Crimson Dawn
by SnowMiser1825
Summary: Bella is still deciding if she should wait for Edward to turn her,a year from now.Little does Edward know that the Volturi dont want to wait.They send an elite group,but when tragedy stricks,the groups mission changes,Forks' citizens are now endanger
1. Chapter 1

-1Chapter 1

"You look so beautiful when you're concentrating." The velvet voice broke through the silence sending a chill down my spine. It was still so hard to believe that this voice belonged to me, let alone that its owner did too. I could feel his gaze on me as I stared down at my English text book, which only made my heart beat faster.

"Yeah, right." I moved under his gaze as his cold hand reached over and placed a strand of my hair behind my ear. I finally looked up into his eyes; they were the liquid topaz that I loved more than anything else. "I definitely do not look beautiful trying to cram a years worth of knowledge into my skull." I let out a heavy sigh, it wasn't the work that I was cramming into my skull, it was the idea that graduation was coming and I still hadn't made up my mind on who I wanted to change me.

It was almost two years now that I had known Edward Cullen and what he was. Little did I know that when I found out, it would turn me whole life inside out and put me in constant danger. The idea of this beautiful creature being a vampire didn't terrify me when I first found out, which Edward thought was insane. The truth was I hadn't realized what that really meant; I could never have foreseen at that time, there would be ravenous vampires hunting me. First time was James, a deranged vampire tracker that wanted me dead only because Edward had protected me. That was when I realized how dangerous vampires could really be; I almost didn't live through that experience. Then that spilled out to the Victoria disaster, James's mate. As if things could get worse, that was when the knowledge of Jacob and his werewolf pack was discovered. That was the worst time of my life, when I had almost lost this beautiful creature in front of me.

"What are you thinking?" Edward's sweet breathe flew into my face and for a minute, I couldn't think of what had just been swirling around in my mind. Now my thoughts were a blurred version of what they had just been and everything I had retained for my English final, disappeared.

"How there is no way for me to concentrate with you here." The words came out so suddenly that I hadn't thought of how Edward would take it. Right on cue, his beautiful marble like features fell into a serious scowl; he was thinking of what I had said and was now taking it too seriously. I placed my hand on his cheek and shook my head. "Don't take it that way" A small, sad smile crept out from the corner of his lips.

"How do you know how I was taking it?" Though he had a smile across his face, it never reached his eyes, which is how I knew that it was a fake smile he had plastered over his scowl. I couldn't help but feel guilty; Edward had always felt like he was in the way of me living a normal life, despite how much I would protest that this is the life I wanted. So every time I mentioned that I could not do something in his presence, he always got an expression of hurt, which only hurt me more. I must have looked a little upset because before I knew it, Edward had me in his arms, I couldn't help but smile.

"Because, I can read your expressions." The smile was contagious, after I had finished speaking; Edward had a smile on his face too. Even now, two years later, I was always surprised that his smile was for me; he was far too perfect to be with someone as normal as me. Edward placed me back on my feet gently and placed his hands carefully on the sides of my face; I knew what this meant. My heart stopped until his cold, stone lips were pressed against mine. I had to remind myself to breathe as well as stand completely still. Edward had a rule about these kinds of moments. I had to remain still, which was usually very hard, I had a habit of losing control. I could taste his sweet breath and it took every once of will power I had in my body to remain still. When the kiss finally broke, I could hear my heart racing in my chest and my face blush.

"I'm going to miss that." Edward's words were little more than a whisper onto my lips, which sent a chill down my back. My cheeks were still red, when I realized that was what Edward would miss; there was something about my blushing that he loved. I rolled my eyes, I had a feeling we were going to have another fight about her being turned into a vampire, despite the fact he was out voted.

"Well, I won't." I said the words a little harsher than I had intended to, Edward's expression fell from his smile into annoyance. I bit my lip and took in a deep breath, I was ready for any kind of argument he might present, but it looked as if Edward was contemplating what exactly to say.

"You know, it doesn't have to be as soon as after graduation." Edward's voice wasn't what I had expected, I was waiting to here his stern, forceful tone, but it was pleading. It was as if he were begging me to consider what he was saying. "The Volturi will not be coming anytime soon. I told you before; they don't count time as we do. A year for them is like a month to us. Even if they do come, I'll protect you from them." His topaz eyes screamed at me to agree to what he was saying, but in my heart I knew what was real.

"Edward, we've been over this, they will come and, if for some random reason they don't, Victoria is still coming; and her idea of time is just like ours." Instinctively I reached out to touch Edward's hand, it was so cold, but it was a cold I welcomed willingly. There was nothing in my story that wasn't the full truth, I was a marked human, doomed to be killed by vampires at some point in the very near future. "Besides, Edward… You were out voted." I smirked, trying to lighten the mood but failed.

"But you want me to change you and I asked you for more time with you being human." He had a stubborn look in his eye; there was no way he was going to budge on that. He was right, I really wanted him to change me, it seemed right, for the one I love to change me, but he wasn't my only option. I shook my head.

"I said I'd give you a year, but I still might take Carlisle on his offer to change me. I don't want to wait a year and half way through be killed by Victoria! Jacob and his pack have been looking for her all this time and have yet to find her!" I felt slightly victorious, a little scared, then a lot of guilt. I hadn't spoken to Jacob since he ratted me out to Charlie about my motorcycle, then again, I had been grounded the entire time; basically it was like a prison lockdown. I couldn't complain though, I had brought it all on myself. Edward's jaw seemed to clench when I mentioned Jacob and his pack, or Victoria, I bit my lip.

"We can protect you from Victoria, she's not a threat against the seven of us." Edward's eyes never stopped pleading me to consider what he had just said, but there was no going back, I had made up my mind on becoming a vampire, only decision left was who was going to turn me. I shook my head again.

"Sorry, but I made up my mind, I'm going to be a vampire, and you can decide whether you want to do it after graduation, or have Carlisle do it." I watched as Edward's eyes darkened with anger. Obviously the idea of an ultimatum wasn't appealing to him, but there was no other way to put it. I might be able to wait a year, but Edward was set one the next 80 years! In a swift action. Edward was standing above me, his eyes looking down at me in anger, but with something else behind it.

"I should be going. Charlie is in the driveway and he plans to check on you every couple of minutes." I nodded, of course Edward knew what Charlie was thinking, but there was something else. He seemed worried. Slowly, he made his was over to me, placed his hands on my cheeks and kissed me passionately. I was so taken aback I wasn't sure how to react, so I reacted as my body told me to, I ran my hands through his hair and held him close to me.

"Sorry." I whispered when our lips finally parted, but he didn't seem angry or upset with me in the slightest. He just smirked, his ice cold forehead pressed against mine, his eyes still closed. The next second, Edward was gone, I heard a slight whisper before he left, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Right on cue, as I was staring over my text books, moments after Edward had left, Charlie came into my room.

"Hey Charlie." I looked up, barely noticing the suspicious look on his face. I was still in a euphoric feeling over Edward's kiss. Charlie was still in his sheriff's uniform, despite the fact that he had been out of work for a couple of hours, just came in from Billy's.

"Hey Bella. What are you doing?" His eyes narrowed at the textbook that was laying in my lap, I lifted it up briefly so that he could see the cover, it was obviously a school book. He nodded. "Last final tomorrow." I nodded back, turned my eyes back to the book; I hated lying to Charlie about having Edward over, but Edward was only allowed to visit me under Charlie's supervision, guess he didn't want me taking off anytime soon.

"There's a lasagna in the fridge." Charlie was already turning out the door as I spoke, if he had heard me or not, I did not know, but he was gone in a second. I shrugged my shoulders and placed my text book at the bottom of my bed, there was no point looking at it anymore. I knew grammer and punctuation perfectly. I moved my body to the CD player next to my bed, Edward's CD was still in there, so I placed my headphones on my ears and began listening. The beauty of the lullaby still caused an insane amount of emotions to flood through me.

The next thing I knew, my alarm was going off next to my bed. It was time for my last final, and final day of high school. I looked over toward my window, it was completely dark, that meant Edward, Alice, and Jasper would be in school today. No sun, nothing to worry about. The thought of seeing Edward caused my heart to skip a beat, but I was also excited to see Alice and Jasper, who was becoming friendlier in recent months. I showered today, which was something I usually saved for before I went to bed, but I had plenty of time before I had to leave the house.

After I had dressed quickly; throwing on a pair of dark blue jeans and a plain white tee shirt for; I made my way downstairs for something to eat. Charlie was already making his way out the door as I stepped down the stairs. We said a quick good bye, then he left. I heard his cruiser pull out of the drive way as I ate a small granola bar, wondering if Edward was going to pick me up today or not. When I had finished brushing my teeth, I quickly ran down the stairs to the front door and threw it open. There Edward was, with a disturbing look on his face.

"What's wrong?" He didn't seem like himself, he looked worried about something. I reached behind the door and took my bag from off the small coat rack in the hallway. I then shut the door behind me as I made my way out of the threshold. Edward's car wasn't parked, it was idling in the driveway, like he had planned an immediate escape. Without a word, Edward grabbed my wrist and pulled me to the passenger door of the car.

"Can you finish your final quickly?" Edward seemed a bit nervous, always looking over his shoulder as he placed me in the car, closed the door, and made his way to the driver seat. I was a little confused, had something else gone wrong; had Victoria been found? My heart raced. I nodded.

"Yes, I can." I thought quickly, it was only English, I could finish it faster than anyone else. I read all the books several times, there would be virtually no grammer questions. The essays would take awhile, but I could finish them quick enough. "Why?" Edward shook his head.

"Alice saw something this morning. We'll need you to come to our house afterwards." Edward didn't explain and I figured I wasn't meant to hear what had happened just yet. He probably figured if I did I would panic more during my finals and fail. I looked away, and like he was reading my mind finally, he said, "It's not Victoria, don't worry." I saw a small smile creep into the corners of his mouth, but never touch his eyes. I smiled weakly back.

Before I knew it, we were at school, I never realized how fast Edward was going until we got to our destination in record time. Edward climbed gracefully out of the driver's seat and opened my door for me. He slowly walked to class with me, it was Edward's last final too, we had every class together because. The test was simple enough, nothing that I couldn't handle. Edward was, of course, done before everyone else in the class., which no one would have figured because he waited for me to be done. When I handed my exam in, I headed out the door and waited for Edward, who came out a couple of minutes later. He smiled at me.

"How do you think you did?" Edward was walking a slow pace with me, his hand wrapped around my waist. I shrugged my shoulders as we made our way to the guidance office to sign out of our last class. When we came into the office, there were no other students, and all the eyes in the room landed on me. I always felt like this, like all eyes looked at the fabulous Greek god standing with his arms over s completely normal looking girl. I sighed as we handed our papers in, they were quickly signed and we were on our way out. "Well, how did you do?"

"I think I did well." Edward smiled, it was a kind of mocking smile. I looked over at him, his eyes were laughing. I couldn't help but laugh with him, it was so good to hear him laugh, at what, I didn't know, but he was laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" I pulled myself away slightly, but his iron grip was around my waist and I couldn't take myself away from him, not that I even wanted to. As we made our way to the car, Edward's face became a little more serious. He shrugged.

"You said you did well on an English final, I think it's cute that you used proper English." Edward's smile faded from his face, but it still lingered in his eyes for a few more minutes. It wasn't until they were in the car did Edward's attitude return to what it was when he had picked me up. I looked at him nervously.

"What did Alice see?" The words came out as calm as I could muster them. They hadn't shook in the slightest bit, it was almost like I was asking for the weather. Edward sighed heavily as his body tensed up even more. For a moment I could see him debating the answer in his head, trying to find the best way to word it. He looked me sternly.

"You were right. The Volturi aren't wasting any time making sure we change you." Edward's jaw clenched tightly and I could swear I heard a low growl in his throat. His hands tightened on the steering wheel and I could swear I heard the wheel break under the pressure. "But they're not coming on their own… they're sending someone else in their stead." I didn't understand.

"Does she know who they're sending?" Edward had expected this question, he already had the expression across his face to answer it before I even asked.

"They're sending a group of four who are extremely dangerous. They're called Theon" The tone in Edward's voice suggested that this was a lot worse than Victoria being back, despite the fact that earlier it was supposed to be comforting. We drove quickly until we made it to his house, where his entire family sat outside waiting for them; worried expressions across their faces. I felt a strange shiver pass through my body, but not from cold, from fear.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer : Forgot to put one on the first chapter, but, I do not own the characters of Twilight or New Moon or the story. I have merely created a plot over an existing story, I own the characters Aphrodite, Artemis, Ares, and Poseidon.

* * *

Chapter 2

I was sitting in the dinning room of the Cullen's home, exactly where I had been a couple of months ago when they voted on my future. The scene was all to familiar, Edward as to my right, his jaw clenched in anger, Carlisle was to my left while the rest of the family sat or stood around the table. This time, though, their eyes weren't on me, they were on Alice, who, despite her best efforts, had a smile for me.

"Alice, what did you see?" Esme placed a gentle hand on Alice's shoulder as Carlisle spoke in a very calm manner. Upon my arrival to the house, Alice had another vision, of what no one had known yet. The smile she wore for me faded and she looked to Jasper, who was sitting in the chair next to her, his hand on hers.

"The Theon were summoned by the Volturi, were given a special assignment." I watched as Alice's eyes landed on Edward, who looked very angry, then to me with sadness on her beautiful features. Everyone in the room looked around nervously as Alice took another deep breath. "They want Bella changed sooner rather than later. Aro figured that, with the depth of emotion had for Bella, it would be wise to turn her now, save Edward the trouble of getting too attached to her in her human condition." Jasper could hear the sadness in Alice's words, so he clasped his hand tighter around hers, she smiled appreciatively back.

"Why can't we just explain that we're going to turn her in a year?" Rosalie spoke out from her corner, her beautiful figured pushed itself off the wall she was leaning against and her face came closer to the light. Every time I saw Rosalie, I felt a pang of jealousy. She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen, or would ever see and her original purpose for being was to be with Edward. I had to take my eyes from her, I could feel my face turn red.

"The Volturi don't want to wait, they're anxious to see what kind of gifts she will have. It could be worse." Alice leaned back slightly in her chair, her eyes were glued to Edward, who had not moved the slightest, not even to breathe. His angry topaz eyes turned to her in a questioning fashion.

"How could it be worse?" Emmet spoke out, Edward didn't need to ask, he could read the answer in Alice's mind before it was even asked. Emmet glared between Alice and Edward, not sure which of them was going to answer, but Edward's beautiful mouth never moved.

"The Theon are like us." No one expected that the answer would come from Carlisle, but at the same time, no one but my jumped when he spoke. I could see Edward smirk a little from the corner of my eye, and I began to blush. "The Theon don't feed off of humans, they never have. We should still be worried though." Carlisle turned to Alice. "When he gave them the assignment, what did they say?"

"Well, one of the male and female seemed pretty angry that they were summoned merely to turn one human. The other two didn't seem to care." Alice shrugged her shoulders, as if it was something to be expected. I was still completely lost, and decided I had a right to know.

"Who are the Theon?" Rosalie, Emmet, and Jasper looked around curiously, they didn't know who they were either. I would have assumed they didn't know because they weren't originally with Carlisle, but neither was Alice, then again, she had a special gift for seeing the future, maybe one time in the past she saw them, so she knew who they were. Carlisle smiled weakly and folded his hands over one another on the table. It was hard to believe how brilliant he was, he looked so young, but inside him was a mind older than any other I would ever encounter.

"That's a good question, Bella and I believe you have the right to know everything at this point." His eyes turned to Edward for approval, but I had the feeling that whether or not Edward was okay with my knowing this didn't matter, I was going to find out one way or another. "The Theon are the oldest known vampires, who were thought to be myths." Carlisle's beautiful features held a small smile in the corners of his mouth, it made me feel safer. "The myth states that Nyx, the goddess of the night and believed to rule over the nightly creatures, found two mortals wondering in night, lost. They were so beautiful that she wanted them for herself, to be her followers.

"She couldn't think of a way to keep the mortals for herself. The other gods had favored them as well, giving them unmatched beauty, wisdom, and other gifts. It wasn't until one night, Hera, jealous of the affection Zeus had for the mortals, plotted to kill the women. When she had left their bodies, they had little breath left in them, so Nyx offered them eternal life. Since they were so close to dead, they would be considered as such and would need to feed off the living to sustain themselves. Their skin would be smooth, but solid like marble to protect them from injuries, but also it would glitter in the light so that all would know that they were special. The girls agreed."

"When the returned to their village the next day, the sun hit their skin and they were considered immortals. One was given the name Aphrodite, her beauty was and is still supposedly unmatched. The other was called Artemis, though she was beautiful, she emerged in the town with twigs in her hair, as if she were on a hunt." Edward's jaw finally unclenched. I hadn't noticed that my gazed went from Carlisle to him so quickly, it wasn't until his eyes hit mine. Carlisle nodded, I could hear him about to speak, but couldn't take my eyes from Edward.

"The one called Aphrodite was given a mate by Nyx, her creator, but she did not feel passion for him, so she made her own; a man, who in life was a soldier with an insurmountable amount of passion. He was to be called Ares, because he would fight any man who would look at his love." Carlisle looked down at his hands, the topaz in his eyes was fading into black, but I knew he didn't feel the hunger like the others did. It didn't drive him crazy. There was a pause.

"What about the other one? Artemis? She was a virgin goddess, right? Her love was only for the hunt. So, who is the fourth person?" It seemed like a logical answer to me, but after I had asked it, I felt a little ridiculous. My cheeks flushed and Edward squeezed my hand more with a smile spreading across his face. I tilted my head down to cover my now crimson cheeks.

"Well, in the Greek and Roman religion she was a virgin goddess. In the vampire myth she had been in love also. Unlike the passionate couple, Aphrodite and Ares, Artemis and her mate have never been with anyone but the one another." I couldn't help but think that could be me and Edward. Maybe we could be together forever, and only together. Carlisle continued. "Artemis fell in love with the god they called Poseidon, who was older than she, but not by much." Another question popped into my mind.

"How old are they any way? Each of them, I mean." I guess I asked the right question. Carlisle smiled at me and gave me a quick nod. It might not have been the right question, but I was still curious. If two of them were angered to be summoned merely to change me then that must mean they thought they deserved more respect than that.

"The Theon are older than the Volturi by almost a full two thousand years. Their first recorded sighting was during the Earlier Cycladic Culture." I hadn't actually heard of what that was, but I figured that it was really old, because I could barely pronounce it. I looked over to Edward a little confused.

"I don't get why you guys look so worried about their coming. I was going to be changed anyway, right? We just need to explain to them that I wanted you to change me, Carlisle, they can stay until you do." I felt like my reasoning was logical, why would the Theon care who changed me, especially the ones that are angry with the fact that they were sent here for merely that. Alice bit her lower lip, avoiding my gaze. I looked to Edward. "What?"

"Artemis is a hunter, she was given something to hunt. Though she is not passionate like the other two, she takes it seriously. They wouldn't kill you, we know that for sure. They have changed mortals many times, never in their existence have they enjoyed human blood, no matter how hard they tried to drink it. The problem is… once you are turned, they will take you to the Volturi to examine your gifts, if you have any, but if the Theon value your gifts, they will keep you to themselves." That's why they all looked worried. The Theon planned to take her away from Edward, to either the Volturi to be with them. I nodded feeling slightly numb. "That and the werewolf situation."

"What do you mean werewolf situation?" I didn't mean for the words to come out so viciously, but she did feel a need to protect Jacob, no matter the fact that he didn't want anything to do with her. She instantly regretted her urge to defend the werewolves, who she know were not bad, because Edward had taken his hand from hers and placed it on his lap.

"The Theon are not known for the kindness of other creatures. Ares and Artemis, though not mates, spend a lot of time together, mostly hunting." Edward was nodding his head slowly, waiting for me to catch on. I had already figured it out, but Edward felt the need to announce, in case I hadn't. "They mainly hunt werewolves. One is no challenge, because of their age, there…skills are more enhanced than any other." He paused for it to sink in, then he continued. "They're faster and stronger than us normally. They also have special gifts, like ours."

"You mean like you can read minds, how Alice can see the future, and how Jasper can manipulate the mood of a room?" My eyes fell on each person as I mentioned their special ability, but my eyes lingered on Edward just a little longer than the rest. Edward didn't move, his eyes were glued to mine, which caused my heart to beat in my head. Carlisle spoke first.

"Yes, that's exactly it." Carlisle rose him his seat, but mine and Edward's gaze never left one another, we were magnetically locked together. Carlisle was standing over his chair, palms flat on the cold surface of the table, only I knew he didn't feel the cold. "We're not sure which powers they posses, but we know they have more than one, due to their age, they have the ability to focus their mind on other things, learning new skills." Carlisle was making his way out of the room, when Alice's body went rigid.

"Carlisle…Edward…" Jasper was hovering over Alice, his arms out ready to grab her at a moments notice. When the glazed look dropped from Alice's face, Jasper took her delicate little shoulders in his hands and pulled her back against his chest. She fell lightly back onto his chest and sighed lightly.

"What did you se, Alice?" Jasper was almost whispering into Alice's ear, his voice was so gentle. I couldn't help but see the strong amount of love between the two and it made me feel warm inside. But the expression spread across her face, her worried expression caused the warmth inside me to fade away.

"They're coming. I saw them, in an airport, but I don't know if they're there now, or what. For all I know they could be here in Forks now, or on a plane." Alice looked from me to Edward, she mouthed the words sorry, not sure of what to do exactly. I felt Edward lift me up from my seat and stand me up beside him; I hadn't even noticed he was standing.

"What do we do? There has to be something." Carlisle was shaking his head over his chair, his head hung down as he tried to think of something, but the shaking of his head indicated that he was at a loss for action.

"There is nothing we can do now. We will have to sit here and wait to see what will happen when they get here. Maybe Edward can persuade them to wait. I only hope things haven't changed too much." Carlisle left the room before he had finished that sentence, I wasn't sure what it meant, but the minute Carlisle had completed the statement, Edward stiffened. I would ask him at some point what was going on, but I had to be home before Charlie, this would have to wait until Edward would come to my room before I went to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer : Forgot to put one on the first chapter, but, I do not own the characters of Twilight or New Moon or the story. I have merely created a plot over an existing story, I own the characters Aphrodite, Artemis, Ares, and Poseidon.

* * *

Chapter 3

We were sitting in the car on the way back from the Cullen's house. Edward hadn't spoken a word to me directly since we left the house, instead I would catch him muttering things under his breath, things that I'm sure I wasn't meant to ear. The entire ride, as short as it was, was filled with a tension that made the ride last for ever. Edward wouldn't even look at me, his eyes were glued to the road as he growled the whole way home. I wasn't scared, even though I was being hunted by more vampires, this time it didn't feel as terrifying as it had before. Maybe because I was becoming used the idea that I wasn't going to live a normal life. Another reason was because I was comforted with the idea that these vampires didn't drink human blood, a relief. We were in the driveway to my house, Charlie still wasn't home, so I didn't rush to get out of the car.

"I hate this." Edward's voice came between his clenched teeth and I wasn't sure if I was meant to reply or even hear him. I was looking at his stone like features as they stared out of the windshield, looking into the forest as if expecting something to come out of it. His eyes then turned to me and I could see worry in his eyes. "I can't do anything this time. I can't take you out of Forks, they'd just find you. We can't trick them like James or Victoria." Edward looked back out the windshield his eyes staring intently into the forest. Though it was day, the clouds made the forest look dark, even eerie.

"Carlisle said you might be able to talk them into waiting… Why you?" Edward placed his head on the steering wheel and took a very deep breath. I reached over to touch him, but was stopped suddenly by his hand around my wrist. I was slightly startled by his quick motion, but saw a smile creep into the corner of his mouth. I smiled back.

"He just hopes I'll be able to by reading their minds, seeing what they want exactly." Edward's voice was very gentle and warm, I felt myself feel more comforted about everything now. I looked deep into his topaz eyes, which I could almost feel looking right through me, as if he were reading my thoughts, but I knew he couldn't.

"How will we know when they're here? Alice doesn't seem to sure about what moves they're making." Edward paused for a minute, his eyes taking in every feature of my face. The smile faded from my lips as I looked into his eyes and saw a twinge of something, what I'm not sure, but something.

"Our powers do work on them, but it's different. For Alice, she can see them, but it' not perfect. When she sees things, there's no way to tell when they happened. For example, her first vision of them, last night, she saw the four of them sitting on a beach in Italy, it was after they were given their assignment; they were discussing options. Ares and Aphrodite wanted to just kill the Volturi for insulting them with such a menial task but Artemis said she would go alone if they didn't want to go. But traditionally, the group never splits, except to go on trips with their mate." Edward had placed his hand on my cheek and I could feel his cold touch against my warm cheek, I never minded that his touch was like ice. Sometimes it would remind me of Jacob, whose touch was the exact opposite; it felt like a fire against my body.

"So, will you be able to read their minds?" If Alice's powers didn't work so well on these creatures, then how well would Edward's work against them? I looked down at the clock, Charlie would be leaving the station to come home now, giving Edward and Bella almost a complete hour together. Edward shrugged.

"I had met one of them shortly after I became a vampire, when I was hunting murderers in ally ways." Edward looked away from me more a minute, he hated that part of him, he felt ashamed of what he had done, despite the fact that at the time he tried to justify it. I nodded and he continued. "I didn't know she was safe, a man was following her, he had terrible thoughts of what to do with her… so I followed him, but when I got there he was dead. She looked back at me, her eyes weren't red, there was some different about her eyes. Could have been the dark, but when I tried to read her mind she fought back, had me only see what she wanted me to see." Edward pulled at his ear.

"Then why did Carlisle think they'd let you convince them to wait?" Edward shifted in his seat, his eyes avoiding me. Something was going through his mind, I could see it in his eyes, but he didn't want to share with me, I sighed.

"After I met her in the ally, I followed her around for awhile. She wasn't with the others at the time; why, she never said. We just traveled together, she took me to where she was changed and explained why she never drank from humans; no matter what they had done or would've done." I raised my eyebrow, he knew what I was going to ask as my mouth formed to ask the question, but he allowed me to ask anyway.

"Why didn't she drink human blood?" The words came out, making me feel sick. The thought of feeding off a person made my stomach lurch, it was such a disgusting thought, but it was a part of Edward's world, something he had done once in his life, so I would never share my disgust with him.

"When they had woken up, Aphrodite and Artemis had felt hunger, but they didn't wish to feel off of humans. Most vampires yearn for human blood when they are turned, it drives them. But their thoughts were that they were once mortal, their families were mortal. It would be killing themselves to kill their loved ones. So instead, Artemis would hunt animals for them to drink from, or gather fish. They had never had a taste for human blood. None of them." I nodded, this was very impressive and it made me think of what I would be like. Would I go insane for the taste of humans or would my logic overpower the urge?

"How long did you stay with her?" The question burned inside me. I knew Edward had never been close to anyone else but me, or so he had told me. Maybe he had lied, just to make me feel more comfortable with him. He had been around so long and he was so perfectly, beautiful. Edward shrugged his shoulders, it didn't seem to matter to him.

"I spent a couple of years with her, not that long. She convinced me to return to Carlisle and Esme, since she was going back to her coven." Edward thought for a minute, then smiled warmly. "She said she saw so much more in my future if I stayed with them. Said she saw happiness." His hand touched the side of my face, my breathing became shallow. "I guess she saw you." My heart leapt into my throat. His face was so close to mine his intoxicating breath cleared my mind of all thoughts, then his smooth, marble lips were pushed against mine.

My body heated up like a furnace about to explode. Every inch of me was burning with desire to have him just a bit closer to me; to have his cold body pushed against mine. The urge was so strong I could not fight it and neither did he. In fact, Edward seemed to have the same sensation in his body as I had in mine. He pulled me close to him as he pushed himself into me more, kissing me passionately. A second later, the back of my body was being pushed down against the smooth leather of the seats, Edward's cold body on top of mine. My body must have been on fire, because the cold of his body didn't touch my skin at all, all I could feel was the pressure of his body on top of mine and my breathing becoming short. Then, all of the sudden, his lips were moved from mine, he was panting, even though he didn't need the air. His body was still on top of me, but his lips were removed. I slowly opened my eyes and saw a smirk on his face, his eyes looked completely engulfed in my expression.

"Charlie will be home any minute." Neither of us moved, except for when I nodded my head. We stared into one another's eyes. That's when I thought of Artemis and her mate, Poseidon. They had never been with anyone else but one another, which made me wonder if that could be for me and Edward. Would we be able to be in love with one another, like they were? I bit my lower lip as Edward slipped off of me and pulled me from under him. His touch was delicate but strong enough to slide my body back into it's upright position. Then, in such a swift motion, Edward was out of the car and opening my door for me, his hand held out to help me out.

"You don't think I can handle getting out of a car myself?" I turned my head in the air, as if I were offended by his gesture, but I took his hand anyway. I would do anything to touch his cold, stone-like body. I could feel his touch attempting to be as gentle as possible, while still trying to steer me from the car, but I still managed to lose my footing. My knees gave out as I made a way to stand and I almost tumbled over, face first. Thankfully, Edward's hand had not relinquished mine, and he was able to catch me before I fell. My face turned red.

"You can't even get out of the car with my help." I smiled, trying to seem as if I was not as embarrassed as I was. I'm not sure why I was so embarrassed, Edward had seen me at my worst in all ways and was still there. Whether I was clumsy or not didn't matter. I heard the car door click shut, with my bag over his shoulder, Edward walked me to the door of Charlie's house.

"This is where I take my leave." Edward had moved extremely close to me again, so the words came out mostly as air. His hands were reaching all over my face, slid down to my neck, and then landed on my hips as he pulled me closer to him, but at the same time he pushed me against the door.

When his lips touched mine, it wasn't me who reached first, but this time it was Edward. I could feel his chest moving fast as he took in deep breaths, his hands grabbing my waist, pulling me ever closer to him. I did not resist; I merely placed my hands on around his neck and pulled his torso closer to mine. I hadn't been thinking about what this meant, that maybe Edward had now controlled the urge to kill me and believed he could get close again to me. I had a feeling that later it would occur to me that Edward and I were getting intensely more serious than before. His cold body only urged me to get closer to him, to extinguish the flame that was burning inside me. The fire was for Edward, for his lips, and for his entire being. We had been kissing for so long that I had forgotten what was upsetting him earlier, then I remembered; Charlie. I gently pushed my lips from Edward's, his eyes looked into mine, frightened.

"Did I hurt you?" The fear in his voice confused me, what had he meant? Then I remembered, he once said he could kill me at any minute, by accident with a single touch. I shook my head, then he pulled away and placed his hands in his pants pocket. "Sorry, I was getting carried away."  
"No, that's not it." Edward looked at me, a slick smirk across his face, but his eyebrow was raised in curiosity. "Charlie will be home soon. You shouldn't be here." I watched Edward nod, wanting nothing more than to press my lips and body against him again, but there was no time. I had decided to take complete care of Charlie before she would be turned, her plan was to spend as much time with him as she could, make anything for dinner that he wanted, and try and bond with him again. So far, things were progressing slightly, Charlie always had a great dinner, which I always ate with him, but we were too much a like to really bond. There wasn't much we could talk about, we were exactly a like in the fact that we didn't mind sitting in total darkness. Time was now running out, so tonight, I was going to push our bonding into full blast tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer : Forgot to put one on the first chapter, but, I do not own the characters of Twilight or New Moon or the story. I have merely created a plot over an existing story, I own the characters Aphrodite, Artemis, Ares, and Poseidon.

* * *

Chapter 4

"You know, you scared Charlie tonight." Edward was laid across my bed, his body looked like a marble statue of a Greek god reclining, but this god wore regular clothing; I thought about how unfortunate that was. I was sitting at the computer, waiting for the ancient thing to start up; Renee had sent an excessive amount of emails in the past couple of days, ranting about how Phil was now sick, almost completely bed ridden. I turned to Edward slowly, after telling Renee about my week; mentioning almost nothing about graduation.

"What do you mean, I scared him?" I turned my body around in the seat; Edward hadn't moved an inch, not even to breathe. I marveled at his perfect face, I had a feeling that even human, he was just as beautiful. I stood up and made my way to where he was on my bed. I wanted nothing more than to finish what we had started in the car, but I felt like I would be pushing it if I were to mention it. So I just placed my self in the crevices of his body.

"He's now wondering why you were so eager to bond with him at dinner; he wasn't sure what to make of it." Edward laughed to himself; I assumed he was still listening in on Charlie's thoughts. I shrugged my shoulders. "He thinks maybe you're up to something and want him to forgive you with a little less convincing." I watched Edward's eyes twinkle as I imagined what he was thinking; his marriage proposal.

"Well, he'll understand when I 'leave for college'," I made quotations with my fingers as I said the phrase to emphasize that I had no real intention of leaving for school. Maybe I would consider it after I had become a vampire but until then I had made no plans for college. Everything that involved school was all but a show for Charlie, every mention of it to Renee was just as much as it was for Charlie. Edward nodded his head then gently kissed the top of my head.

"You have another option. You could wait a little longer; go to college first." Edward was so stubborn about my upcoming immortality, not that he had much of a choice; someone was being sent to change that. I rolled my eyes as I pulled myself from Edward's body to look into his liquid gold eyes. I hoped that my expression was stern enough to deter anymore attempts at swaying my decision.

"Edward, I really don't. We've already decided that Carlisle is going to change me after graduation; that's assuming the Theon don't get here first." Edward's face hardened. I knew this wasn't something he wanted to talk about; at the first mention of the Theon he seemed annoyed or afraid, despite the fact that they would not kill me. "I don't get it. What is it that you're afraid of?" Edward's body became rigid next to mine; his breathing became sharp. "Would they actually kill me and everyone is lying or something?"

"It's not that." Edward shifted his body closer to mine. His sweet breath was in my mouth as he spoke; my head began to spin and I felt drunk. "They don't play by our kinds rules. They go out in the sun if they wish and expose themselves without regard for anyone else." Edward placed a hand on my cheek and brushed my hair from my face. "The Volturi, when they had started their coven, attempted to control the Theon by giving them the same rules that we all follow. The Theon didn't like that, so they did all they could to expose our kind and destroyed several villages."

"I thought they didn't feed off of humans?" I could feel my heart racing in my chest. The thought that these four vampires coming for me could change their diet at a moments notice scared me. Edward shook his head and kissed my forehead gently. I felt warm.

"They don't. They allowed the humans to live and only killed the vampires that lived there." I saw a small smirk creep into the corner of Edward's mouth at the thought. He shook his head as he tried to suppress a laugh. "Several humans stayed to watch what was going on, the Volturi were not too pleased with that." Edward couldn't hold the laugh in any longer. "The Theon had killed several of their favorite servants. It taught the Volturi that they don't own everyone." Edward must have seen the pain in my face at his amusement in what the four vampires had done.

I went to roll off the bed and head over to the computer, maybe pretend to do something, but Edward's arm was planted at my exit. His speed was still impressive; I hadn't seen him move his body almost on top of mine. I bit my bottom lip with a sharp inhale; my body temperature heated up as he lowered his face down to mine and kissed along my jaw. At first I didn't move until Edward's hand grabbed my face and pulled my lips to his. There was no reason to fight; he wanted this as much as I did. I kissed him with as much power as I had in me, my hands reached through his hair and pulled him closer to me. Edward placed himself on top of me gently, but in one swift movement, he rolled my body on top of his. We held this amount of passion for awhile, until the inevitable happened. Edward pulled away from me.

"Oh, my Bella. Look what you do to me" Edward's hands were on either side of my face as he pushed me off him gently. If it weren't for his strength, I would have toppled back on top of him. I slowly opened my eyes and looked to see that the gold in his eyes was turning black. This weekend he would be gone. I pushed myself off of his hips and reminded myself to breathe.

"You don't have to stop, you know." I kept my eyes to the ceiling; for fear that I would see revulsion in his eyes at the idea. I heard Edward scoff at my answer and my eyes had to see the expression that went with the noise. Edward was looking at the ceiling too, he was panting like I was, but his eyes showed me what the words meant to him. He looked as though what I had said was insane, almost an insult to him.

"Bella, you know as well as I that I _do_ have to stop it. It would be too easy for me to lose control and accidentally hurt you. I can't allow myself to do that." Edward took my hand in his and kissed my fingertips gently. "You are far too fragile for me to take any risks with you." I felt his fingertips brush against my cheek; the touch was cool and sent a shiver down my spine, but not from the cold.

"Are you going hunting tomorrow?" I looked into his eyes as my fingers traced along the purple shading under his eyes. He nodded, the topaz would be gone by tomorrow, which would be the usual time for Edward to hunt. I could feel the sad expression cross my face at the thought that I would be without him for the next couple of days.

"I'm going with Emmet and Jasper to the national park; they are having a mountain lion problem." Edward's eyes twinkled slightly. I smiled back and began to fall back into my bed; feeling tired. Edward placed a kissed upon my forehead and wrapped his arms around me. I was under the blankets before he placed his arms around me, to keep me from the cold feeling of his stone body. I wasn't tired; I just didn't want to think of what this weekend was going to be like for me with him gone. Then had an idea; I hadn't been down to La Push in awhile, I missed Jacob, so now I could go there without making Edward angry.

The next morning Edward left before I woke up, but I felt his cold lips pressed against my forehead moments before I heard the window close. I kept my eyes closed for a couple more hours, I wasn't ready to get up and face the day, knowing Edward wasn't around. The only comfort was that I was going to see Jacob for the first time in months. I climbed out of bed and felt a strange chill as the blankets came off my legs; goose bumps appeared all over my skin as I made my way down to the kitchen. Charlie was sitting at the table, slowly sipping a coffee with a box of fishing tackle beside his leg.

"Morning, Dad." My voice gave away the fact that I had just woken up; I was extremely groggy and my hair was all over the place. Charlie looked up at me and then turned his attention back to his cup and took a sip. There was a small nod in between the motion from me to his cup which I took as an acknowledgment of my presence. "Going fishing today?" He nodded without moving his eyes from the cup.

"Yeah; I'm leaving here soon to pick up Billy, then we're heading out." My ears perked slightly at the mention of Billy's name; Jacob would be alone today, easier for me to talk to him. As if Charlie was reading my mind, he looked over at me and spoke. "I was thinking maybe you could spend some time with Jacob. I know he misses you." I nodded my head in agreement; though I doubted this very much. I had tried calling Jacob several times since our last meeting when he caused the permanent punishment, but he had never answered any of my calls. Charlie got up from his seat, put his mug in the sink and headed out the door with only a quick good bye.

It was common knowledge that Charlie had hated Edward, he had blamed him for what had happened to me last year; my little meltdown. That was what he didn't understand though, it was my fault, I was the one who died inside; Edward didn't know that would happen. How could he have? I thought about this for a long time as I got myself ready for the morning.

The idea of what Jacob would say when he saw me ran through my mind even through my shower. I had accidently rub my face wash through my hair, because I had though it was my shampoo. That was my hint that I should probably pull myself together, so I did and concentrated on not thinking about Jacob. But that just made me feel guilty. Jacob meant so much to me, if it wasn't for him, I would probably be dead. He was the only person in the world that made the hole in my chest feel like it wasn't going to rip me apart. I sighed heavily as I combed through my dresser to find clothes. My mind was now fully concentrated on Jacob; I could remember everything about him, my only fear now was that he wouldn't be my Jacob.

I had instinctively made my way down to La Push, it had become almost like second nature to be here after Edward had left. It had been a symbol of a safe haven through all the torment I had gone through over the past year, a place where I could be safe and away from the memory of the pain I had. I drove past the woods until I hit the clearing of the reservation and I let out a relieved sigh. I still felt safe coming here, even though I knew Jacob and his pack could never forgive me for choosing the vampires, but there was nothing else I could do. Jacob had to know it was coming, he saw the pain I was in while Edward was gone and what I was without him; instead he had expected me to turn my back on the Cullens for leaving. I heaved a long and heavy sigh as I pulled up to the old familiar house and turned off the monster that was my truck with a huge roar. There was no way Jacob had not idea I was there, he had worked on the car himself and knew the sound almost as well as I did. As I contemplated throwing the truck back on, I looked up to see Jacob standing on his small front porch, glaring out at my car.

Neither of us spoke as we stood in no man's land between the small house and my orange truck. I could see the emotions flickering across his face, there was hate, pain, sorrow, and joy. I knew exactly why each emotion passed across his face; and they were all caused by me. I wanted nothing more than to throw my arms around him and make him feel better, but it would probably only cause him more pain. I had taken a small step back, but Jacob must have seen this as a retreat that he wasn't ready for. His huge, warm arms were thrown around my body and he pulled me tightly into his arms. His body was just as it was the last time he embraced me like this; so warm as if he had a fever.

"I'm so glad you're here."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"How have you been?" Jacob and I were sitting on the couch in his cramped living room in complete silence. It was such a strange thing for us; at one time, we could talk each other's ear off for hours. Those were the days I had missed the most, but those were also the most painful days of my life; it was so hard to decide what I wanted. Did I want my time back with Jacob, even with all the pain I went through, or would I rather have Edward in my life? Jacob looked straight ahead, as if trying to avoid my eyes then I noticed his hands balled up, fits shaking. I could see it was taking him a lot of control to not shift into his wolf form. He sighed heavily and looked over at me, with a sad expression on his face.

"We've been fine. Victoria hasn't shown up for awhile, so we've been just doing routine surveillance of the woods." I cringed slightly to myself at the mention of Victoria's name; the female vampire that wanted to make sure that I would suffer, because Edward had killed her mate. Jacob's dark eyes looked intently at me. "How have you been?"

"I've been good." I knew Jacob was searching for something to explain why I was here; maybe he was hoping I had left the Cullens and came to be with him, but that would never happen. I was forever going to be with Edward, and when I say forever, I mean it. I shrugged slightly and couldn't figure out what to say next. It was a completely awkward silence, but at the same time it was almost comforting.

"Is there something going on with you?" Jacob could always tell when something like this was on my mind; I sighed heavily and looked around the cramped house. It was amazing that Jacob could still even fit in this house, let alone have three other werewolves. My eyes darted away from Jacob; it was always so hard for me to lie to him. I looked up, with my best confused face on.

"What do you mean?" I could feel that my words came out in a curious manner, because I was slightly curious what he meant, but my face was less convincing. I saw Jacob's face fall into that same look that told me he knew I lied. I couldn't let him know anything, for his own safety. Jacob ran a hand through his thick luxurious black hair with a worried expression across his face. He was hiding something that he wanted to tell me. "Jacob, do you know something?" Jacob looked at me with pained eyed, his fists still shaking violently.

"I'm not really supposed to say…" I completely understood that Jacob had a responsibility to his werewolf pack, but there was something he was hiding, something that was probably extremely important. I did what I always did when I wanted information out of Jacob, gave him the irritated look I had when I wanted information out of him. I knew this was a cheap trick because Jacob couldn't stand to see me anything other than happy. He soon caved. "I'm not supposed to tell you… but there's something happening…"

I felt a strange feeling in my stomach, maybe Victoria was here; maybe she was already hunting for me. I knew that if this were true, she would not have a chance because Edward and the rest of the Cullens were now focused on the Theon. I couldn't breathe for a minute, the idea that I was being hunted not only by Victoria, but by another group of vampires was too much to handle. Jacob nudged my shoulder slightly, not on purpose, but his large body took up way too much of the couch and when he leaned back, his huge shoulders hit me.

"What do you mean? What's happening?" My breathing came back to normal, but my words were careful, I didn't want Jacob getting worried or anything else. He didn't seem to notice that I was a little on edge, probably because he seemed to be on edge himself. Jacob sighed.

"There's something going on in the forest. It's quieter than normal. Like, all the animals are hiding from something. We haven't noticed any new smells or anything, we just don't get it." Jacob shrugged then looked over to me, I smiled weakly. He didn't seem to mind the fact that my smile wasn't extremely enthused, he just placed his warm hand on my cheek and smiled warmly. "It's so nice to see you." I smiled back, a real smile and didn't feel so worried about whatever was coming for me, it just melted away in the presence of my friend.

The rest of the day was exactly what I needed. Jacob and I caught up about everything, everything normal. We made a point not to mention the Cullens, but other than that the day was just like the days we used to share; when we would talk about everything, when Jacob was the only thing that could keep me sane. He took me to the garage, where he was building up another vintage sports car, not for himself, but something to sell and make some money for his dad. We laughed about things going on in his life as he updated me on the members of his pack. It was a good day for the two of us. I hardly even noticed that it was down pouring outside the window, but every now and then my mind would travel to Edward, I was hoping his hunting was going well and I hoped he would be back soon, but at the same time, I was having too much fun with Jacob; fun that I had missed. Time seemed to escape us in this time, I hardly realized that it was almost ten until Billy came in through the door and was shocked that I was still here. Jacob and I laughed as we realized we spent the whole day talking and hadn't realized time flew, but now was the time I had to leave.

"I'll walk you to your truck." Jacob was up and at the door before the words came out of his mouth. I smiled at first and headed toward the door, saying good bye to Billy as I went. It was still raining when we left the house, what else should I have expected though? I pulled my coat high over my head, but I didn't feel water hitting my head. When I looked up from my coat, I saw Jacob hunched over me, blocking the rain. I smiled at the fact that he was so sweet to me. When we finally reached the cab of my truck, I turned to say good bye, but was pulled into a massive bear hug. His body was so warm, it felt as if he was drying me with just his hug, but then, just as quickly as he hugged me, he had let go and turned back to his house. I sighed slightly as I climbed into my truck and started the beast; wishing things didn't have to be so complicated.

Edward wasn't the same when I saw him Sunday afternoon, he looked tense, though I knew he must have fed his full, because his eyes were the liquid topaz that I had come to love. We sat in his room listening to some of his music, while laying as close to one another as physically possible. The longer we sat in his room, the more obvious it became that he was worried about something, completely tense. His beautiful marble features didn't move, except for the few times when my staring wasn't as secretive as I had intended it to be. When he noticed my eyes glued to him, he would smile warmly, kiss the tip of my nose and gently move me closer to him. This strange quiet continued for an hour or two until Alice was standing in the doorway, with a terrified look in her eyes.

"What is it?" Edward's body was in an upright position before I had time to react to Alice. Alice was looking from me to Edward in a serious manner and then stuck to Edward. I knew that there was a good chance Alice wasn't going to say anything, just let Edward read her mind, and then he would react instantly. I was wrong.

"They're here…" Alice's eyes moved away from Edward then landed on me, she looked at me with sorry eyes; she was always so concerned about me. It was like she already saw me as her sister, though I hadn't been changed yet. Edward flew out of the bed, pulling me with him. Sometimes these quick movements made me feel slightly dizzy, other times just hurt my arm a little bit.

"Where are they?" Carlisle was standing next to Alice in the door way, looking down at her with no expression on his beautiful young face. Alice turned to him, not even startled that he was there in an instant, but then again, to her she must have known he was coming. Alice looked toward Carlisle then looked to Edward, then to me.

"They're waiting for us in the forest… In the clearing where Edward took Bella…" Alice looked more closely at Edward, she shrugged her shoulders. "They won't come here because they consider it rude to just show up at ones house. They were hoping I would see them in the field so that we would meet them there as soon as possible." Edward's jaw clenched, he looked like an enraged statue of a Greek god.

"What do you think we should do?" Edward was looking at Carlisle in a pleading manner, looking for some kind of good news, but there was no answer in his eyes. Carlisle was thinking heavily on our options, not liking exactly what he was thinking.

"Looks like we have no other choice but to go to the field and meet them." Edward was about to protest, but was interrupted by Carlisle, who cleared his throat. "Edward, we have no choice. If they come here, they will be less pleased than if we go to meet them. Trust me they won't do anything without discussing it with us first." Edward's hand clenched around mine tightly, almost enough to break my hand, but I didn't wince, for fear that he would let go. With a quick nod, Edward had agreed to meeting the Theon in the field where he had once taken me. I felt a sense of anxiousness, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was curious to meet these characters, if they were so special to vampires, they had to be something else entirely.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer** : I do not own the characters of Twilight or New Moon or the story. I have merely created a plot over an existing story, I own the characters Aphrodite, Artemis, Ares, and Poseidon.

* * *

Chapter 6

Edward was silent as we drove to the spot where the trail into the forest that led to the meadow. Though Edward drove at his normal, fast pace, it still seemed to take forever until the car finally stopped. Alice and Jasper sat in the back seat of the Volvo, both in silence but their thoughts were probably running wild because every few seconds, Edward's eyes would dart away from the road to the two in the back seat, narrowed. A million thoughts ran through my head as we stepped out of the car and Edward placed me on his back for the run to the meadow. I wondered if the one called Artemis would remember Edward, or if they would just turn me instantly. As soon as we were standing at the edge of the forest, the rest of the Cullen family was standing behind us. Carlisle turned to Edward.

"Are they out there?" Carlisle had kept his eyes on Edward but I could tell he had his peripheral vision focused on the wooded area in front of us. Edward was scanning the area, I assumed he was trying to listen for the thoughts of one of the Theon, but he shook his head in defeat.

"I don't know. I don't hear anything, I'm listening for Artemis, but she knows how to block her thoughts, but for all I know, they aren't here." Edward narrowed his eyes, looking more intently into the forest, he shook his head. "I don't think they're here." Edward turned to look at Carlisle, who merely nodded.

"All right, here's the plan. Edward, you stay here with Bella, we will head to the meadow and keep and eye out, follows us slowly, but be on your watch." Carlisle stared at Edward, waiting for him to nod, which he did almost reluctantly. With a quick flash of movement, Edward and I were alone at the front of the forest. I was still perched on his back like a small baby monkey. Edward's eyes never moved from the forest in front of him and his body never relaxed.

It was hard to believe I was heading back to the meadow where I had first seen what Edward looked like in the sun, the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. He was more glorious than any angel could ever have been, he was so free and comfortable there with me, but not this field was the place where I was going to meet the end of my mortal life. I sighed heavily; it wasn't a sad sigh, but a relieved one. I was happy that this would finally be over and I wouldn't endanger anyone I loved ever again. As these thoughts came to an end, so did Edward's patience at the threshold of the forest. Edward took a step and moved quickly through the trees. I was still amazed whenever he did this, and also still slightly nauseous. Edward managed to miss every tree that was in our path, every twig or fern so that we made it a few feet from the meadow without any evidence that we just ran through a forest. Edward stopped a few feet from the meadow and looked carefully ahead of him. Of course, I could not see a thing, stupid human eyes, I hoped I would upgrade soon.

"Edward." Carlisle's words were very clear, even I had heard them, but the way he said it was almost a trick. Carlisle didn't take his eyes off of the wooded area in front of him, and he stood extremely relaxed while the rest of his family stood beside him, eyes locked on the same location. Edward stepped out of the forest slowly then placed me gently down in the field of wild flowers. The field was still as beautiful as it had been when I first came here, wildflowers of every color. For a minute I had forgotten why we had come to meadow and I stared at the flowers while my memory came flooding back to when I sat in the field with Edward, I smiled, until I noticed every Cullen become tense. This was when I first saw the vampires that were sent here for me and this made me feel completely unworthy.

The first to step out of the green wooded area was a male, so handsome that it took my breath away. He walked toward the group of vampires in front of him without cautious, without a grand gesture. He simply stepped out from the forest, his clothes untouched by the twigs and leaves just as the Cullens had. I could not take my eyes off this creature for a long while. He was not like the Cullen family, while they were all extremely pale white, the beautiful pale that I had come to love; this vampire had a slightly pale olive color, as if he had attempted to tan. Though he was still pale, he had slightly more color than the Cullens had, but it also could have been his hair. The male's hair was short and very dark, almost like coal, ruffled up. No one else had ever made the 'rolled out of bed' appearance look so beautiful. As I continued to stare at his beautiful features, a perfect mouth, slim jawbone that matched his perfect cheek bones, I was brought to his eyes and was glued there. His eyes were not the golden color I knew of the 'vegetarian' vampires, or the ruby red of the others, but his eyes were a kind of bluish green. I stared into his eyes with awe until he was looking back at me, with a friendly smile. Quickly I looked away, blushing; embarrassed that he had caught me gawking at his beauty, then he spoke in one of the most beautiful voices I had ever heard.

"You must be the Cullen family." The accent was thick, heavy, old. I had never heard this kind of accent before, it was mesmerizing. The man bowed his head slightly, one hand around his waist, the other behind his back. He looked into the eyes of each vampire before him, except Edward, and then turned to Carlisle. "I take it you are the… father, of your coven?" The man smiled, not menacingly or mockingly, but just friendly, as if he were pleased to meet Carlisle.

"Yes. My name is Carlisle Cullen." Carlisle took a step toward the vampire and did the very same bow that the pleasant vampire had done before. "And this is my family Seem, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, Edward, and Bella." Carlisle had gestured to each person as he said their name, even mine. The man before us looked to each individual before him and nodded pleasantly, until he hit Edward, where he merely summed him up with his eyes, then turned to me with a smile and a bow.

"My name is Poseidon, and…" He turned behind him to look into the forest, and then grimaced slightly. Within a moment of two, another vampire had stepped into the clearing.

If I had ever felt self conscious around Rosalie, this was far worse. The vampire that had stepped into the clearing was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen in my life. Her body was the perfect hour glass figure wrapped in a silk red dress, cut down to her belly button in the front and just reaching the very bottom of her back where her tailbone began with red strap stilettos to match. She walked as if she were a model on the catwalk, extremely delicate and beautiful. Her hair was very stylish and accented her beautiful face perfectly, it was long, all the way down to her mid back and straight, with thick bangs that circled her forehead, it was something that if anyone else had tried to pull off, it would look ordinary, but in this women, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, she was shick, and the epitome of beauty. Her skin was very much like her companion, Poseidon, a pale olive color and her eyes were exactly the same as Poseidon's, bluish green. Her lips were ruby red; it was something that could lure in anyone, even a vampire.

"I'm Aphrodite. " She waved to everyone in the Cullen group, her eyes lingering slightly longer on the guys than anyone else. I watched as she looked at each Cullen, Jasper and Emmett seemed to be flattered by her attention, Alice didn't seem to care too much, but Rosalie stared at Aphrodite with a pang of jealous, then turned her head toward Emmett and growled lightly. Aphrodite smiled at this then looked at me. "Oh! She is so cute!" Aphrodite stepped forward slightly, which caused Edward to drop into a protective stance and growl. None of the Cullens moved, but Poseidon and Aphrodite both stepped forward slightly. "Look at him, Don! He's so cute and protective!" Aphrodite laughed as Edward moved back to an upright position.

"Di, stop that." Poseidon gave Aphrodite a stern look and she shrugged her shoulders slightly and smiled as she looked around, obviously also enjoying the meadow. I tried with all my strength not to look at her beauty, it was intoxicating, she was the most beautiful thing I had seen in the world and then it hit me. I nudge Edward.

"They're not mates?" I whispered as low as I could, I could barely hear myself speak, but Aphrodite had heard me and looked directly at me, with a laugh. Her laugh almost made me weep it was so beautiful. It was like the sound of a wind chime.

"Oh, God, no." She laughed even more as she looked to Poseidon, who smirked slightly; he was obviously not the type to express emotions like Aphrodite. "This is my brother." Aphrodite smiled fondly at Poseidon then turned to me. "Our mates…" she smirked "are around." Just as she spoke, another man stepped out of the forest, I couldn't contain myself, I gasped again.

This male was just as beautiful as Poseidon was, but he looked much different. This male was slightly shorter than Poseidon, maybe an inch, which made him still ridiculously tall since Poseidon must have been almost 6'4. This man had the same color hair as Poseidon, but his was in a crew cut form with a rat tail. He was not as clean cut as Poseidon, but in this was his beauty. I looked him up and down several times, taking in his beauty, it was as if he were a model for a high brand of clothing, even in his plain dark jeans and a black t shirt. The shirt hugged every muscle in his chest; any woman would have swooned over him without control. I watched as he approached Aphrodite and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the cheek. At first she seemed less interested in him, but after a minute, she was running her fingers through his hair passionately. This man had the same tanned olive skin, but there seemed to be something wrapped around his muscular arm. It looked like an extremely faded tattoo, something he must have had in his human life. His eyes scanned everyone ahead of him.

"Darling, this is the Cullen family. Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, Edward, and their adorable human, Bella." Aphrodite motioned to every single one of us, but when she said my name, she seemed far more excited than she should be. The man just looked at everyone with little to no interest and nodded his head after he had made eye contact with everyone. "Cullen family, this is my darling, Ares." When Aphrodite said this, she beamed. Their love shone through their eyes so brightly, I could now imagine what it looked like when I was with Edward.

"Well, Di, you seem to be in a much better mood than you were before we got here." I had been so absorbed in the love shared between Ares and Aphrodite that I hadn't noticed the woman come from out of the forest. She was standing beside Poseidon, not touching, but if one of them moved their arm slightly, they would rub against one another. Her eyes went from Aphrodite to Edward in an instant.

"Oh, Artemis."Aphrodite smirked evilly. "This is the Cullen family, but I'm pretty you have heard of them, since you know Edward so well." Aphrodite giggled, until Poseidon looked at her and growled angrily. Aphrodite stopped laughing instantly and looked around angrily.

Artemis was not as obvious in her beauty as Aphrodite had been, she did not wear a flashy gown that showed off her beautiful curves, which could be seen even through her perfectly fitted light jeans with slight tear in certain places that matched well with her white tee. It was then I realized she was dressed exactly like Poseidon. When looking at Aphrodite, she reminded me slightly of myself, her hair was a brown color, curly in a pony tail. She had an intense beauty, just like Aphrodite, but it seemed different, but the same. Upon closer inspection, I could see it. Aphrodite, though she had a dark red hair color, and Artemis must have been related in their human life. Their features were very similar; they had the same almond shaped eyes, high cheek bones, and full pouty lips. I looked intently at Artemis and Aphrodite, they were so different, but so beautiful that it was almost unfair for every creature that has ever existed or ever would. As I listened to their voices separately, I noticed that they all had the same, thick, ancient accent. I almost felt faint, it was so beautiful.

"Hello, Cullen family." Artemis bowed her head slightly, eyes scanning everyone, but lingering on Edward. She smiled, as if she were extremely happy to see him with his family.

"It is nice to meet you all, and I apologize for being abrupt, but we should probably discuss our business quickly." Carlisle spoke extremely politely, but firm. "I want to sort out his mess as soon as possible." Carlisle stepped forward toward Poseidon, who was standing slightly in front of everyone else. Artemis shook her head, at the same time Ares did.

"We came to turn the human, though normally we would ignore this kind of request, we were curious to see why. Aro told us that she is immune to our kind's powers, more or less." Artemis stared keep into my eyes then shook her head. "We were curious to see if she was immune to us, which she is not. But we will not discuss these matters here… There is a large pack of wolves in this area and I would prefer not to have them show up. My brother and I have a tendency to… not tolerate their existence."

"If you do not mind, we would like to come to your home and speak more with Bella." Poseidon stepped forward, placing his hand on Artemis' shoulder when he noticed Edward's gaze locked onto her expression. Carlisle nodded.

"I think that is a fine idea, as long as you agree to not harm Bella while you are in my home." Carlisle looked sternly at Artemis and Poseidon, while Ares and Aphrodite were whispering into one another's ears, their mouths moving so fast that it would have been impossible for me to understand.

"Seriously, we're not going to jump on her and change her there." Aphrodite's sarcasm was heavy as she rolled her eyes at her comment. She seemed to be annoyed by the fact that the Cullens thought that her and her family were savage. Ares laughed.

"Honestly, if we wanted to change her, we could do it now with no problem." Ares' narrowed his eyes at the Cullens in a challenge, Emmett seemed as if he wanted to take him up on that, but Rosalie placed her hand on Emmett's arm to deter Emmett from doing something that would cause a fight. Poseidon and Artemis growled under their breath at their family and rolled their eyes.

"We promise not to follow through on the Volturi's desires until we speak to you about it." Poseidon looked at each Cullen then placed a hand behind Artemis' back. "So that your human feels much safer, we will hunt before we stopped by your home." Poseidon nodded, just as Carlisle did, then in a flash all of the Theon were gone. The Cullens stood their motionless, until Carlisle turned to Edward and the rest.

"All right, looks like we'll be heading back to the house and we will discuss this with the Theon." Edward growled under his breath, Esme and Carlisle looked at him sympathetically. "This is the best we can ask for. They are not here because they wish to change her; they are here because they are curious. This means there is a good chance she will not have to be changed now." Edward nodded.

With that, we all headed back to the cars and made our way to the Cullens' home. I was still trying to absorb everything I had seen; the beauty of the Theon, and the way they spoke. It was all so mesmerizing. It was hard to believe I had barely spoken, but it seemed that I would be speaking with the Theon very shortly. I tried to scramble my brain, to remain calm.

"I promise, you'll be safe." Is all Edward said in the car.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer : See previous chapters.

As you can see, postive reviews help me to write faster! P.S I apologize if last chapter didn't have as much Bella thoughts, I was trying to introduce new characters that would be easily visualized. Enjoy

* * *

Chapter 7

Sitting in the Cullen's house, awaiting for the arrival of the Theon, who were not what I expected, was a quiet event. Though, I am sure there were an insane amount of thoughts going through the minds of every one of the Cullens, Edward seemed to be the tensest of all. His perfect features were frozen in a look of severe concentration, he was planning something, and I knew it has to do with me, because his eyes would flicker from me to the wall in front of him. I tried to speak, but I couldn't think of the words to say. I sighed and then looked to each member of the Cullen family. No one spoke, or even looked at one another. Alice and Jasper stood next to one another, arms folded over their chest, eyes glued to the floor. Rosalie and Jasper sat across the room from one another, Rosalie looked out the window, not looking for anything in particular, but just gazing as if she were day dreaming. Emmett sat on a long couch staring at the piano with a bored expression across his face. They all seemed like statues sitting in a warehouse, waiting to be picked up.

"Edward… Could you read any of their thoughts?" Carlisle spoke, his eyes were stuck to the floor in front of him, if I hadn't known any better, I would've been startled by the fact that this beautiful statue was speaking, but I merely looked up to Edward to sighed.

"They were very careful to control their thoughts in front of me. What I could hear was nothing that was relevant. Artemis… I couldn't read at all and she seems to be the one in charge here." Edward looked at me quickly, almost apologetically and then he shook his head. "I don't think we have to worry right now. Poseidon and Artemis aren't the type to do something rash and they're usually in charge." Carlisle nodded, I finally found my voice.

"So, why are they coming here, exactly?" I looked at Edward, then Carlisle, then back to Edward. Edward looked at me with his intense, topaz eyes and for a minute I felt slightly faint, but after I took a deep breath the faint spell passed. Sometimes it was impossible for me to look into Edward's eyes and remember to breathe, even though we had been together for awhile now. His beauty would always cripple me.

"The Theon are… cordial. They think it's rude not to know someone, if they wish to change them." Carlisle looked at me intently, but as if he was looking through me, for the words to describe the strange vampires that would be knocking on the door at any moment. "They wish to come here and get to know you on a personal level and better introduce themselves." Edward placed his cold, stone like hand on top of mine and gently massaged the back of my hand with his finger tips. My heart jumped in my chest slightly and from the corner of my eye, I could see Edward smirk.

"So, we don't have to worry about them being here at all?" Emmett's body had moved an inch as he spoke, but that voice was unmistakably his. Carlisle looked to Edward, then to Alice nodded, almost certain. Then Alice nodded back, assuring.

"I haven't seen them causing any kind of trouble. They seem genuinely curious about Edward's feelings for Bella and why we won't change her. They haven't decided if they're going to change her." Alice shrugged her shoulders; Jasper placed a hand on her shoulder affectionately then looked away. Esme sighed slightly just as Rosalie did. Then, there a slight tap at the front door of the Cullens home. No one seemed surprised by it, except me. I managed to jump slightly from where I was sitting and land on the floor. Edward chuckled, almost forcefully, and then lifted me up as Carlisle made is his way to the door. As soon as the door opened, I could tell they were here.

"We've been expecting you." Carlisle sounded as if he were speaking to someone he had known for years, a good friend he had invited and was pleased to see. "Please, won't you step in." I looked over toward the front door to see Aphrodite stepping in, she no longer wore the red dress I had seen her wearing in the meadow. Now, she wore a pair of dark jeans, perfectly hugging every curve of her body and a tight fitted black top, with matching black stiletto boots. I felt, not a pang of jealousy, but a stabbing, murderous kind of jealousy as she stepped in gracefully.

"Oh! I love your house!" Aphrodite stepped in at a normal human pace and took in the entire first, wall-less floor of the house. She gushed as she looked all over to see the beautiful open space and large windows. "Res, baby, come here! It's beautiful!" Right behind her came in Ares, her mate, wearing the same outfit he had on in the field, making him match exactly the same as Aphrodite, but his jeans were torn in certain areas and his shoes were not fancy for a guy, instead he merely wore black sneakers. Ares shrugged when Aphrodite dragged him around the first room of the house. She smiled wildly.

"Aphrodite, don't be rude." Poseidon stepped in, followed closely by Artemis. Poseidon had also not changed, but his outfit didn't seem as relaxed as Ares was, his white shirt was fitted to his body and his jeans were not fancy, but they had not rips in them and his shoes were just brown boots. These plain clothes looked so glorious on both men, it was impossible to imagine them on any other human. Aphrodite stuck her tongue out at Poseidon and laughed.

"Thank you, for allowing us into your home, Carlisle. It is truly beautiful." Artemis was dressed also like Aphrodite, but she had on a fitted white shirt and, like Ares, sneakers. It was hard to imagine that Artemis was not with Ares, they both seemed laid back and not too worried about dressing, while Poseidon and Aphrodite looked very clean. The simple outfit choices that these four made were stunning, perfect with their intent to come here, to only speak with me and get to know me. Suddenly, I looked down at my ratty old jeans and beige sweater, I felt completely hideous; why it is that vampires were not only incredibly beautiful, but made any outfit look amazing.

"We are happy to have you here, as long as things remain pleasant." Carlisle looked slightly toward Ares and Aphrodite, who were wondering around the main floor of the house, either admiring the architecture, or looking for a quick escape. Artemis nodded politely.

"You have my word that this will remain as peaceful as possible." Artemis also looked at Aphrodite, who was glaring at Artemis, one eye brow raised onto her perfect forehead. I watched as these two stared at one another and their differences seemed to melt away. They were both extremely beautiful, unfairly beautiful in my eyes, but the beauty wasn't the same. I felt butterflies fluttering around in my stomach, fluttering as if someone had just shot a super powered fan in their direction. I tried to swallow, nervous of what they wanted to talk about, but at the same time, hoping that I would be turned today, and be able to stay with Edward, forever.

"We have come merely to speak with the human, we have not decided whether or not to fulfill the request of the Volturi." Poseidon looked directly into my eyes and for a minute, I felt a wave of complete calmness. I was worry free and felt a slight wave of euphoria. With this new feeling, I grabbed Edward's hand and held it tightly, though for him it was probably like a small child. When Edward looked at me, I could tell he felt calm as well, with the smile he had when he looked at me; the crooked smile that made me felt every time I had seen it. A thousand thoughts ran through my mind. If today was the day I would be turned into a vampire, today would be the beginning of eternity with Edward. The idea was intoxicating. I would no longer be the weak link for the Cullens, instead I would be a real member of their family. As I was getting lost in my thought, I hadn't noticed that we had moved into the dinning room area. There was no longer the glass table that had been there before, instead there was a small wooden table, just as beautiful as the glass one had been, but slightly less dangerous for me. I noticed there was a glass covering over the table, not even a splinter. My face turned slightly scarlet as I remembered why they had to get a new table. I sighed as Edward sat at the head of the table, pulling me into his lap, wrapping his arms around me protectively.

"You are so precious! So young, so in love, as you will be for the rest of your immortal…." Poseidon cleared his throat, scolding Aphrodite with his eyes. Aphrodite sat perched on the corner of the table furthest from me and Edward, her body tilted toward Ares. All the sudden, I felt another flood of red hit my face and a new feeling of excitement. She had confirmed what I always wanted to know, that Edward and I would spend forever together.

"I think we should begin. Isabella, we are the Theon, as you may know by now. We would like to let you know a little more about each of us before we discuss the matter in which we have been sent for, do you mind?" Poseidon's voice sounded like he was reciting a poem, or singing a song whenever he spoke. I was entranced by his words, but it was nothing like how I felt when Edward would laugh. This was new, this was merely a fascination into something so old, so beautiful, and so powerful. I nodded meekly and cleared my mind, trying to remain calm as the four of them looked at me intently.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"My name is Poseidon." I had heard the name almost all day and the way with which he spoke, but when it was mixed together, the voice with the name, I felt a chill go through my body, not the bad kind, but one of excitement. I was so intrigued by what this beautiful creature had to say, that I noticed my body leaned forward. Edward placed his arms around my stomach, slightly tighter to keep me from getting too close or falling over. My heart fluttered at his obvious concern. "I am the oldest of the Theon, one of the oldest vampires in existence, maybe the oldest. I do not have an exact time of when I was reborn into this life, for when I was mortal there was no real concept of years. I do not know much of my mortal life, for it has been very long. I do remember living in what your people call Greece for many centuries." Poseidon looked into my eyes, waiting to see if I comprehended what he said. It was very difficult to imagine a time when people didn't really know the time in which they lived. He was so old, so much older than the Volturi, but he looked much healthier than they had. I nodded. "Now, I have a unique power to control emotions and tamper with the short term memory of creatures, if you do not mind, I wish to test the belief that you are immune to many powers that our kind has." He paused again; his beautiful eyes staring deep into mine, waiting for a confirmation. At first, I was nervous of what memory that he would tamper with. I hesitated and as if Edward could read my mind, he stepped in.

"Which one of these powers do you plan to use on her?" Edward's words came out far more hostile than he may have intended, but Poseidon didn't take any offense, instead, it was Ares and Aphrodite giving Edward a nasty look. I gripped his arm tightly, as a warning for him to not start a fight. Edward sighed. "I just don't want something bad to happen; like her forgetting something important."

"Do not apologize, Edward. I completely understand your concern. My power for tampering with memory is only something I used in emergencies. I was merely going to attempt to control her emotions. For example, right now, she is feeling curious, but also worried for you. I will merely change her emotions from curious and worried to relaxation and feeling full of knowledge." Edward nodded after a moment of hesitation, and then Poseidon looked back to me. "Do you mind, Isabella?" I swallowed hard, I was feeling extremely nervous at this point, not wanting to disappoint this beautiful creature in his attempts, but at the same time, slightly hoping to still be special. I nodded weakly and almost instantly, I felt more relaxed. Every muscle in my body seemed to turn to jelly in Edward's arms and I leaned back onto him, with a smile across my face. Then, suddenly, my curiosity of these beings faded and I felt like I knew everything I needed to know. They were beautiful, old, and here for a particular reason, I was no longer curious about their lives, their journey here, or anything else. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling, until the calmness started to fade and questions began fluttering around my mind. When I opened my eyes, Poseidon was nodding, a small smile on his face. "You have a very busy mind. Thank you for fulfilling my curiosity. Do you have any questions for me before I allow another member of my family to introduce themselves properly?" Poseidon bowed his head slightly, showing me respect for allowing him into my mind, but it was me grateful for the comfort. I couldn't think of a question that would be appropriate, so I merely shook my head with a smile.

"Thank you for being so polite, but I really don't have any questions at the moment." I wondered about his human life, but he couldn't remember, I wondered about his relationship with the members of his family, especially Artemis. Poseidon nodded and moved from his seat, it was like musical chairs, suddenly Poseidon had moved to the end of the table, sitting right behind Artemis and Ares was now staring at me; his rough exterior appraising me as I sat inches from him. I felt a sudden twinge of fear as I remembered the stories of Ares in Greek myth, the god that slept with a blanket made from the flesh of man. Ares smirked; it was a seductive look, if I had not been wholeheartedly in love with Edward I would have fallen instantly.

"My names Ares. I am the youngest of my family." Unlike Poseidon, Ares spoke very casually, very much like someone who grew up in my generation, but he also had a sort of elegance to him, something I'm sure he had no control over. "I was made by Aphrodite, about five years after she had been turned. The myths about me, from Greek mythology… are more of less true, but I did not kill mortal men, I killed vampires and werewolves." I winced. Ares killed werewolves; my best friend was a werewolf. I could only imagine Jacob fighting with this being and I felt fear instantly. Edward kissed my back, I calmed instantly, feeling my heart thud again. "I was a soldier in my mortal life, son of someone influential. I do not remember much else about my life, though I remember my mortal family with no flaws." Ares smiled again, but not a full smile. It was a lot like Edward's crooked smile, but there was something in it that made it less special than the one I had come to know and love, it was not Edward's. "My power, since I am a hunter, is that I can slightly control the movements of others and I can also predict the movements of any opponent both only work if I am making eye contact with them." Ares smiled, I had a feeling he was not going to be like Poseidon in his attempt to show me his powers. He was going to instantly show me what he was going to do. "Now, keep in mind, whatever I do is not an attack, it is a demonstration and I mean no harm." Ares' eyes travelled to the seat slightly behind him, where Aphrodite sat. She clapped her hands together once and smiled proudly. Ares stared deep into my eyes and all the sudden, with no control of my own body, my arm began to move toward Edward's face and my hand was stroking his face, my face never leaving Ares. My heart pounded as my hand went from Edward's face, to his chest, almost to his waist when Poseidon reached over and hit Ares on the back of the head lightly, the noise still extremely loud.

"That is enough, Ares." Poseidon's voice took the authoritative tone and Ares looked away from my face, his eyes turning to Poseidon with a growl deep in his voice. Poseidon pretended to ignore this. "I apologize for his behavior. He enjoys playing games with people." Ares shrugged his shoulders and looked back to me and Edward with a mocking smirk.

"Yes, I enjoy messing with people. I was once human after all it's in their nature to destroy one another." Ares stood from his seat, slowly. He his every motion deliberately as he stared at Poseidon with a hidden meaning in his eyes. I stared at Ares as he moved to the seat Poseidon in this game of musical chairs and began to wonder what the meaning was. Before I could come up with any ideas, there was a quick snap in my face, pulling me back to the reality that Aphrodite was sitting in front of me, one arm flat on the table, elbow bent so her hand pointed back to her and the other hand in her lap. Her perfect, lips colored in a red lipstick and her hair pulled back perfectly made her look like a model at their best, but it was obvious that this was at her most relaxed.

"I'm Aphrodite. How are you?" Aphrodite asked, her perfect set of white teeth biting at her lower lip waiting for my answer, she nodded her head, nudging me to answer.

"I'm good. Thank you for asking." I was almost shocked that she was so polite. Normally, when someone sees another person of extreme beauty, it's hard to imagine that they are very nice. It happened on rare occasions that this was not true, but it did happen. I stared as Aphrodite smiled gently and sighed as Ares poked her, annoyed.

"I'm going to tell you a little about me. I, like my brother Don, do not remember the year in which I was born as a mortal. I remember my mortal life, perfectly. I was the daughter of an important man, or so I thought he was as a child. I had one sister, a twin sister, who is Artemis." Aphrodite motioned her hand to Artemis, who was standing by the window, looking out intently at the river behind the Cullen house, or looking toward the mountains. Whatever she was looking at, she merely looked back to Aphrodite and me with a bored expression. "We were very lucky when we were born and though I do not really believe the myth that we were killed because of Hera's jealous, we were in fact saved by a vampire named Nyx, who claimed to be the first vampire. Whether that is true or not, we do not care. She said she thought we were extremely beautiful as mortals, and as we lay dying, she said she loved us in our way, and turned us to vampires.

After that, we stayed with Nyx, but never fed from mortals, instead we stayed with our mortal families and in our village. They considered us goddesses; we did not know any better." Aphrodite looked away from me with a sad look on her face. I thought for a moment that she was thinking about her family, that she lost, but instantly she turned back to me. "I have the ability to see the future, past, and present of any being I meet. I must only see their face and know their live, a pain of a 'gift'." Aphrodite smiled and looked into my eyes. The only response I could think of was to nod my head. Aphrodite looked away and smiled toward Edward. "Apparently, you're a real life Romeo." I felt my cheeks go scarlet. My entire face became red and instantly I threw my hands to my face, trying to block my face from the eyes of eleven vampires, but Aphrodite was laughing and Edward's hand was at my face, he smiled as he kissed my cheek. "Except the original Romeo, Pyrimus, wasn't half as sweet as Shakespeare's Romeo… Thank the gods he took my advice." Aphrodite laughed and turned to Ares, who smirked.

"That is so embarrassing." Edward placed his cold hand on my scarlet face, though his hands were freezing, I couldn't feel the cold through my extremely hot, red face. Aphrodite shook her head and smiled.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is all I'm sharing, because everything else will cause her to run from the room in tears." Aphrodite gracefully jumped from her seat and turned to the chair behind her, where Ares sat, and fell into his lap. It was so beautiful to watch her move, like watching a ballerina fall gently into the arms of her love. I felt my heart tighten and a wave of emotions run through me for a moment, it was the kind of feeling I would get when reading an emotional, beautiful love story. I cleared my throat to remove the feeling from my heart and sighed when Edward's arms tightened around my waist. When I looked back in front of me, Artemis was looking, not at me, but at Edward.

"Hello Edward. Good to see you." Artemis looked at Edward for a couple of more moments then turned her head to me slightly and nodded. "I'm Artemis, sister of Aphrodite. Where Aphrodite left off, we took care of our mortal family for centuries until they died out during a fatal epidemic, then we retreated into our own lives. We had acquired a large some of gold over our years as mortals, so we bought a home with a private beach and have lived there for centuries. Then, the Volturi attempted to… boss us around we… showed them we are not the ones to boss around. That was when they discovered our powers and found how unique we were. My power is that I can, very much like Edward, read minds but slightly more powerful than Edward's. I can also put thoughts into people's minds with little effort if I can picture their faces." Artemis sighed and shook her head. "I already know my power works on you, the moment I laid eyes on you. I saw all your insecurities and the love you have for Edward." Artemis shrugged her shoulders. "My family knows all about you, we can share our powers amongst one another, only for a short period of time, so we have seen your past, present, and possible futures."

"So, now that we know each other slightly better, where do we go from here?" Carlisle stepped behind Edward and myself; shocking me slightly. When I was speaking to the Theon, time seemed to have stopped in the wake of their beauty. Carlisle placed his hand gently on my shoulder, with a slight squeeze I felt comforted. Artemis looked intently into Carlisle's eyes then turned to Poseidon and shrugged.

"We have to discuss some thing. We're not entirely sure where we want to go with this. Bella has some incredible potential as one of us, but we do not feel it is right to turn someone who has so much in life. We will discuss what our next step will be. We will arrange a meeting two days from today, the same place we had met before." Poseidon spoke, not moving from his seat, eyes still on Artemis. Though they were not as physical as Ares and Aphrodite, it was just as obvious that they were in love, Poseidon's feelings were obvious through his eyes, but Artemis seemed more guarded. I wondered if that was what Edward and I looked like to outsiders. I could only imagine what else other people thought about Edward and I, one being that he is much more beautiful than I. Aphrodite nodded and stood from her seat, looking as beautiful and graceful as a dancer.

"Our decision will be made then, and at that time, you will be given the opportunity to change our minds." Aphrodite took Ares hand quickly and pulled him up beside her with little effort. Ares just smirked at his mate happily, then pulled her in close to him.

"Not that you would be able to talk us out of anything we set out minds to." Ares scoffed slightly and bit Aphrodite's neck gently, which caused her to let out the most intoxicating giggle. Artemis and Poseidon rolled their eyes.

"Ignore him. You will be given the chance to change our mind to whatever you wish to change it to." Artemis spoke as the four moved out of the room and made their way to the front door of the house. Carlisle and Esme followed close behind, as if they had just hosted a part and were saying good bye to their guests. Rosalie and Emmett followed behind the rest, listening carefully. "Two days from now, noon." Artemis looked around at the faces of the Cullens, then to me, then she looked to Edward, with a long glance. She nodded and turned without another word. This was the last day things would resemble normal for me.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It seemed like a week had passed since the talk I had with the Theon, when in fact it had only been yesterday. Although I tried to keep my mind on other things throughout the day, my mind constantly wondered back to the events of the night before. The way that each of the ancient vampires looked, all different, but all too incredibly beautiful to believe were really there. As I sat in my bedroom, staring at the mass of emails Renee had sent within the past twenty four hours. I stared directly at one she had sent the night before, when I had been at the Cullens house, meeting with the Theon. It was almost as if she had known what I was doing, as if she knew I was in the presence of something incredible. _Bella, honey, how are you? I haven't heard from you in a couple of hours. Just wanted to check in. Phil says hi! We were wondering what you have been up to? Anything exciting happening? Please respond! _I read the email several times over and over, my eyes stuck to the words 'anything exciting happening' I thought for a moment on this, what could I tell her that would be appropriate. There was always the option of telling her the truth, _Hey mom, nothing is up. But something fascinating that has happened to me is that I met a group of four vampires. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that Edward was a vampire. But, anyways, the four vampires that came are beautiful, and want to turn me into one of them. That's all my exciting news, how about you? _I rolled my eyes then deleted the message I had written to my mother. It would be nice to know that I could tell my mom this kind of stuff, without her thinking I had completely lost it, so I wrote a simple email, to encompass everything not involving vampires. _Hey mom, nothing exciting is happening here, I'm in Forks, remember? Nothing else is happening, can't wait to go off to school, but still enjoying the summer. I'll talk to you soon, I love you._

"Catching up on your email?" Edward's voice came from over my shoulder, which surprised me and sent me off my seat. When I had finally landed on the floor, I turned to see him smirking. A Greek god standing at the end of my desk chair, but then it dawned on me. I had met four Greek gods yesterday, real Greek gods. I shook my head slightly, shaking the thought from my head as Edward pulled me from the floor and into his arms. I always cherished the moments Edward held me in his arms, because I always had the feeling that it wouldn't last forever, even before he had left me for my own good.

"You know how Renee gets if I don't reply to her emails the second she hits send." Edward nodded solemnly, his arms wrapped around me. I looked into his topaz eyes; the black was ebbing into the color I had loved so much, since his hunt was cut short. I couldn't help but notice Edward's expression; he fixated on something, thinking intently on something to which I could not know. I suddenly felt angry that I couldn't know his thoughts, but Artemis could. I bit my lip and turned my face away from his.

"What's wrong?" Edward's fingers touched my jaw line, pulling my face closer to his. His touch sent a shock through my body, I had to remind myself to breathe, inhale, and exhale. I shook my head with a weak smile.

"Nothing is wrong." I leaned closer to him, placing my head on his chest in an attempt to hide my face from his eyes. Even though he couldn't read my thoughts, his eyes could still read my expressions. Edward let out a long sigh and placed his chin on the top of my head. We sat there for a minute in silence, I had no thoughts of my own, and I only wondered what his thoughts were and wondered if Artemis, wherever she was, could hear them. I looked up to Edward, not sure what to do. "So, what brings you here?" This question pulled Edward out of his thoughts and he looked down at me with a smile.

"I thought we could go for a walk…" Edward smirked, something else was behind his plan and I knew he could be diabolical. I looked over to my nightstand where the picture of us from prom sat. I was about to say no, but the excitement in Edward's eyes was contagious and I began to feel excited about taking a walk. I nodded with a coy smile.

"I guess we could go for a walk." I tried to play down the fact that the only reason I agreed to something so dangerous for me was because of his eyes, his excitement. I thought for a minute on what I had just agreed to; the inevitability that I was going to fall down and possibly hurt myself. "Where are we going on this walk of yours?" Edward smiled.

"Just through the forest. I thought we could use some alone time. How about we go to our meadow?" If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought that Edward had read my mind. We hadn't spent time alone in so long, not including our secret sleepovers. I though patiently then looked at Edward.

"Will we be walking, or will you be carrying me?" Edward looked at me intently for a minute then laughed. His laughter was like honey, delicious and sweet. I smiled as he continued to laugh, no doubt thinking about the first time we took a trip to the meadow. He nodded

"I guess it would be safer and less time consuming if I carried you, but I think walking will be good enough." Edward took my face in his hands and looked into my eyes, thinking about his next move. My heart began to race and slow down at the first time; my breathing became heavy as he placed his cold lips against mine. I tried to control my body, refusing to move unless Edward gave a hint that I could, but when his body pinned me against my bed and his kiss became more passionate, my body went limp. The kiss didn't last as long as I had wanted, but when Edward pulled away from me, he rose from the bed quickly and went by the window. "I'll be at your door shortly…." His eyes were strained out the window; he was trying to control himself, which seemed to be getting harder and harder as time went on. I nodded, feeling slightly powerful at this point, and then he was gone.

Right on cue, Edward was knocking at the door. Surely he knew Charlie wasn't home, so he didn't have to put on an act of being normal, but he seemed to do it for himself more than any one else. When I had opened the door, Edward was standing there, he looked like he had managed to control himself with the few seconds he had before I came bounding down the stairs. He gave me a crooked smile as we made our way to his car. I rolled my eyes and scoffed. Edward seemed to have found this amusing, because he let out a little chuckle as he opened my door for me, his hand lingering in mine to help me into the seat, then he made his way around at a human pace. When he got in, he threw the car into gear immediately.

"You make self control so difficult." Edward said, not directly to me, but I assumed it was meant for me because of the way he said it. The words came out with a bit of frustration, but there was something else there. Something I couldn't quite figure out. The drive to the location where the trail started was short, especially with the way Edward drove. We didn't speak, we just sat together, enjoying the alone time, our hands wrapped together in on my lap, his cold thumb tracing circles in the middle of my palm. Even though his body was cold to the touch, his slight touch could send a heat wave through my body.

"So, what made you want to go for a walk? You trying to enjoy my human slowness while it's still here?" Part of me meant this seriously; another part meant it as a joke, but no matter what part Edward listened to, this made him mad. The idea of me becoming immortal and being able to live with him forever seemed to aggravate him, and a part of me wondered why.

"Bella, don't talk like that. You're going to be human for a very long time. You understand me?" I hadn't noticed, but Edward's gaze shifted from the road ahead of him to me, his eyes were pleading, like he was begging me to stay human. I sighed and slinked back in my seat. I couldn't understand why he didn't want to be with me forever, like I wanted to be with him. I tried not to think too much on it, but Edward shook my hand to get my attention back to him.

"I was just saying, Edward," I tried to keep my eyes from watering, my thoughts were running wild, the idea of him not wanting me for eternity was killing me. I shook my head and turned back to the window. "I was just saying as a joke." I tried to play it off as if Edward had taken what I had said too far, but in reality, he had the right idea. From what I could tell, I wasn't going to be human long, the Volturi want me changed immediately, so they sent vampires that had become professionals at changing humans from what I understood. There was no way I was going to stay human. Just as my thoughts were coming to a close, we pulled into the entrance of the trail to the meadow. Edward was already at my door before I noticed the car had stopped.

"Ready?" Edward's crooked smile was so beautiful, I felt dazed for a minute. I couldn't move, and then his hand took mine and lifted me from the car with no effort. I nodded and smiled.

"I'm ready." Edward nodded happily, but what he didn't get was that this statement was meant more for my mind. I was ready to be a vampire; I was ready to be with him forever. Edward nodded happily, unaware of what my thoughts held, and then our walk through the forest began.

Edward in the sun was always the highlight of my life, the sparkles all over his body, the beauty of his body compared to the beauty of the flowers in the meadow. As we lay down on our sides, facing one another, I could only imagine what I would look like as a vampire, would I be incredibly beautiful like Aphrodite, or would I be the first plain looking vampire? I couldn't imagine myself beautiful, not like Aphrodite. She was the pinnacle of beauty, even for her kind where everyone was beautiful. I sighed and leaned in closer to Edward, placing my head close to his chest. His hand rose and began twirling my plain brown hair, but he seemed to enjoy it. We just sat for a long time, not talking, just enjoying each other's company. The doubt in my mind on whether or not Edward wanted to be with me forever had faded as he lay together in the field. We were completely peaceful until Edward's body became stiff and he jolted upright, leaving me in the flowers alone.

"Someone's coming…." Edward looked through the trees with his eyes narrowed; his body was in a protective stance, blocking me from view of anything that could possibly be in the forest around us. There was long pause until I noticed that Edward had slightly relaxed, not much, but he seemed more calm that he had a moment ago. Just as Edward began to relax, someone had stepped out of the trees and was standing at the edge of the forest, looking at us intently, a smile across their face.

"Well, look what I found!" The being in the trees finally stepped out from the darkness and made her presence known. Aphrodite stood at the edge of the trees, her body still in the shade of the trees, but very apparent that it was her. Just like before, upon seeing her, I cowered into myself, her beauty was too overwhelming. Her long dark red hair was now curled, heavy locks reaching slightly above where it would have reached if it were straight. Aphrodite stepped closer, carefully at a human pace. She tried to seem friendly enough, but little did she know that her mere appearance could cause animosity towards her. No one could ever be this beautiful; she was the epitome of beautiful. It was not hard to see why in her time people worshipped her as a goddess, especially now since she was wearing a beautiful white dress, very much like the red one she donned when we first met, very low cut neck line and back. Edward looked at her, then away.

"What are you doing here, Aphrodite?" Edward spoke in a pleasant tone, but it still caused Aphrodite to stop in her tracks and look as if she were wounded by his words. She stared curiously at him, not sure where his new found attitude had come from. She shrugged her shoulders, her delicately beautifully shoulders and took another step closer in her stiletto, ankle wrap silver shoes.

"Ares is out scooping the area." As she spoke she rolled her eyes, annoyed that she was left alone by her mate. She sighed, and then looked down at me with a smile. "I thought I smelled something….familiar." Aphrodite turned her gaze from me to Edward, her pouty lips curled up into a smirk. When my eyes landed on Edward, he was not looking at the goddess before him, but his eyes were on his hands intertwined with mine. "Of course, it's not so much my familiarity than my sisters. I guess her memories with you are still fresh in my mind." Aphrodite smirked, my eyes were then stuck to her face, her high cheekbones and perfectly proportional features were amazing. I could not have imagined anyone to be half of what her beauty was. She could make the most beautiful of models insecure, her height was perfect for modeling, she must have been 5'7, the perfect height for a model, but I'm sure even if she was much smaller, she could still pull off being a model, her beauty was something other worldly.

"Oh…" Edward could only muster up this one word; it came out so slowly, obvious that he could not think of something else to say to her. Aphrodite's eyebrows began to furrow in frustration, obviously she came here looking for more than this kind of conversation, and she was now highly disappointed.

"Well, Bella, how are you?" Edward's eyes shot up to Aphrodite as she spoke to me, but Aphrodite seemed to completely ignore Edward's look, which I was sure she knew was on him. Instead, she looked at me, pleasantly, as if she really cared how I was.

"I'm good…. H-how are you?" Words couldn't form when I was looking at her, all I could think of was how beautiful she was and how I would never look like that. Edward obviously noticed her beauty; it was something that no one could miss, so I wondered why he wasn't attracted to her. Aphrodite sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Ugh, I am just a little annoyed. Men. When you tell then you want to go for a walk, he feels the need to check the area for safety. As if I can't take care of myself." Aphrodite swept her hair behind her shoulder and rolled her eyes, then looked back to me for confirmation. "You know what I mean?" I shrugged.

"Well, I really can't take care of myself I'm kind of a klutz." Aphrodite began to laugh at this statement; her laughter was like bells, unimaginably beautiful. She is one of those people that I imagine being really beautiful but have one of the ugliest laughs in the world. Unfortunately, I was wrong, even her personality seemed sweet. Aphrodite nodded, knocking some curls loose.

"Well, when you become a vampire, you can take care of yourself." Edward flashed her a warning look, a slight growl under his breath, but Aphrodite just rolled her eyes. "I mean IF you become a vampire. Relax, Edward. You weren't this uptight with Artemis." With that, Aphrodite turned toward the forest and walked away, shaking her head in frustration. Edward didn't watch her leave, instead his eyes turned back to our hands in the grass. My eyes watched Aphrodite until she was completely out of my sites, but my eyes were still glued to where she left.

"I'm sorry about that." Edward's thumb was again tracing circles in my palm, his words brought me back to him, but then my eyes were just glued to his face, his face which wouldn't look back to me.

"Edward, what happened with you and Artemis?" The words poured out of my mouth with no control, it was like my brain sprung a leak and was pouring out my thoughts. Edward's thumb stopped moving and his eyes met mine, there was a smile on his lips, but it never touched his eyes. I watched as Edward fought for the thoughts he had pushed aside. Then he shook his head.

"Nothing, we were good friends." Edward tried to make this as convincing as possible, but I still had doubts.

"Did you love her?"

"No! Bella, I told you before, I have never felt for anyone else what I feel for you. You are the person I love." Edward took both of my hands into his frantically. "I promise you, I have never felt this way for anyone else, ever." I tried to think clearly but his eyes made everything foggy, I nodded without even knowing it and he gently kissed my lips. "Let's get you home." Edward lifted my up with one hand and threw me over his back. Before I knew it, we were in the car.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer :Same as always

Chapter 10

After a rough night of sleep, dreams that included Artemis and Edward starring as lovers, I had woken up early for work. The morning seemed to pass by in a haze; I had woken up and eaten breakfast, all without making the slightest noise. When I had finally made my way outside, where I expected to see Edward's car to drive me to work, which he usually did, I was shocked to see he was not there. I sighed as I turned back to the house to get the keys to my truck. My mind kept wondering where Edward was, he had always driven me to work, in fact, he didn't even spend the night with me. I thought for a minute, then the only thing that came to mind was the dream I had, where Edward and Artemis were in love. I shook my head and made my way to the truck, telling myself I had completely lost my mind. The drive to work was usually extremely boring, but for some reason, I had this feeling that something was waiting for me there, something important.

When I had finally made it to the Newton's Outdoor sporting store, I parked my truck as far from the entrance as possible, to keep myself from getting there any earlier than I needed to be. I looked at the clock in the truck before I climb out of the cab, but when I looked I noticed I was still fifteen minutes early. I sighed and turned the truck back on and began playing music. I let my mind become blank, just then, there was a knock at the window of my truck, I jumped in the air when I saw Aphrodite standing there, and she smiled politely as I rolled down the window.

"Hey, there." Aphrodite smiled as she pulled a purse up to her shoulder. Even when she attempted to dress normal, Aphrodite was still the picture of perfection. Her slender body was clothed in a pair of dark jeans and a black halter top, her red hair pulled into a pony tail. I smiled politely at her and nodded then she looked around quickly. "I don't mean to seem sketchy in any way by being here, but I saw that you would be bothered by what I said about Artemis and that you would have questions about her and Edward." I nodded in agreement; obviously she knew what she was talking about, because she had special powers to see it, so I wasn't going to deny it. "And, in my family, we don't believe in secrets. I am here to tell you about Artemis and Edward, because for centuries I have believed that secrets can kill relationships."

"I'd really like that." I wasn't sure what else to say, but I knew Edward wouldn't tell me anything, so I had no one else to turn to. Aphrodite was doing something nice for me, not to benefit herself, but because she could not stand secrets.

"First let me start off apologizing. I know this is strange, but being worshipped as the goddess of love for so long, I feel the need to save relationships wherever I am, and secrets do not save anything." Aphrodite looked into my eyes, tilting her head slightly. She looked truly concerned, and I understood. She is the goddess of love; she felt a need to protect it. I nodded. "I was not there when Edward and my sister met. Artemis had left us for several years; she never explained why she left. She simply stated she needed alone time. Well, when she returned I was able to see what she had been up to, that was when I saw what happened between her and Edward.

"Don't be mistaken, Edward and Artemis are not in love. They have never been so. Artemis has always loved Poseidon, they are forever. Sometimes, I think they loved one another before they had met, but they do have their fights. When Artemis left, I'm sure she and Don were fighting, but it was different. Artemis just left one night, with no warning. Artemis had only planned to cool off, but she got carried away and was distracted by something in the distance. She told me that she could feel something special in the distance. It brought her to the new world, where she found Edward. When she first saw Edward, he was hunting a murderer that was going for a woman in an ally. She was amazed when she read his mind; the fact that he was trying to save someone. She had to meet him, so she disguised herself as a victim to a rapist. It wasn't hard, her beauty made it easy; he had the idea, so she merely pushed him to attempt to succeed. When Artemis finally met Edward, she scanned his memories, everything she could find. She learned about his human life and his vampire life. She saw Carlisle and Esme, and then she saw his… diet. She was fascinated with him.

"I guess over time, because they had become so close, it could be considered love. But it was more of a mutual respect and fascination. Artemis is fascinated with Edward, in so many ways. She is fascinated with him because they share the same ability and are virtually the same person. Edward once thought he loved her, until he met you. When he met you, he realized that Artemis was not his love. When they spent time together they bonded on an emotional level, they understood one another." Aphrodite paused and looked away from me for a moment, her eyes toward the sky. "So many mortals believe they have found love merely because they share a common interest or because of fascination. They can never see true love, because it always seems the most terrifying, it is the same with vampires." Aphrodite's blue green eyes never moved from the sky, her gaze was stuck on something unseen. "Sometimes, love fails because it is forced." I tried to look to where Aphrodite was looking, but all I could see was dark, cloudy sky. She seemed too fixated on something in the distance, something I couldn't see. Within a moment, Aphrodite shook her head and laughed lightly. "Anyways, my life has been all about relationships and love, so wherever I go I try to save relationships." I looked away for a minute, toward the entrance of the store, it was about time for me to go in, so I turned to thank Aphrodite, but when I turned around, she was gone. When I looked out the window again, I saw Aphrodite walking past the front of the store, where Mike was standing, gawking her.

Work was anything but exciting, Mike kept asking about the mysterious girl that walked by the store and when I asked how he knew I knew her, he said he saw her sitting in my car with me. I tried to spend the rest of the day making like I was busy, but all I could hear was Mike talking about every inch of Aphrodite.

"She had these eyes that pierce through you. It's like she can read your thoughts." I rolled by eyes and thought to myself, _no, she can just see your future and past_, but I bit my lip and continued working. I hadn't even realized what day it was until I was done with working and I was making my way back to my truck, where Edward stood. I smiled, happy to see him, especially since I now knew that I was truly the only being Edward had ever fallen in love with. I was so happy to see him; I skipped over toward him and threw my arms around his neck, landing a kiss on his lips.

"Someone in a good mood?" Edward raised his eyebrow curiously, not sure of why I was in such a good mood. I blushed slightly, not sure of what to say, so I merely shrugged. Edward kissed my forehead gently and opened the driver door of my truck for me. "Sorry I was not able to drive you into work today." I shrugged and looked at Edward, who seemed very concerned.

"What's wrong?" Edward was already sitting in the passenger seat when I asked, he seemed distracted from our drive back to my house. Edward sat silent for a moment, and when we reached out destination, I saw the shiny silver Volvo sitting in the spot where Charlie's cruiser usually sits. I looked toward Edward, confused. "Um, what's going on?" I parked my truck in its usual spot, turned off the ignition and looked.

"Poseidon came by the house this morning… they want to meet in a couple of hours to discuss turning you…" Edward waited for the comprehension to hit me, he didn't wait long. I thought for a moment then nodded. So, it had been two days. I wasn't sure how to feel; excited that I would possibly have my fate changed today or terrified that I would be doomed to be human, I sighed and nodded. "I, um, I'll be back for you in an hour, after Charlie gets home." I nodded, barely moving my head. Edward must have thought I was in shock, when in reality I was a little excited."I'll be back for you."

As I walked out of the car, Edward looked at me with concern, almost longingly. I waved with a smile on my face, trying to relay a false sense of calm, but inside I felt butterflies. The house was never emptier; I wasn't really in the mood to make any dinner, so I merely just reheated some left overs, lasagna from the other night. I wasn't hungry, so I just heated it up for Charlie. I was sitting in the kitchen, staring down at a cup of milk I had poured myself when there was a knock at the door, sending me jolting. I hadn't expected anyone to be here, and then I had a nagging fear that it was one of the Theon, coming to change me, instead of waiting for the Cullens to argue against it. I gulped as I reached the door, and then there was another large bang. When I swung the door open, I was surprised to see Jacob standing there. As usual, Jacob was shirtless; his copper skin even looked warm, which I knew it was. His dark jeans had rips in it, from running through the forest so often, no doubt. There was one thing I noticed about Jacob that I wasn't used to; he had a very worried look in his face.

"Jacob… Hi." I moved out of the way of the door to make room for him to walk by, but he was so large that it was hard for him to even move around me. We both walked down the narrow hall way to the kitchen. When we made it there, Jacob was standing in front of the hall way, looking around nervously. Edward would be back soon and I wasn't ready to deal with a fight between the two of them. I watched as Jacob scanned the house, but probably more than that, so I waited for him to talk.

"Are you all right?" I looked at him confused, one eyebrow raised on my forehead. It was a question I was very used to hearing, but at this point and time, it seemed unnatural. Jacob looked confused then shook his head. "We've been sensing something strange the past few days." Jacob looked around the small kitchen quickly, then toward the front door. When he looked satisfied, he turned back to me. "Then, about two days ago, we caught sight of something; four vampires, lounging by the ocean. Clearly in an area that is protected by the agreement made with the Cullens, so we figured it wasn't them. So, we decided to watch them closely…." Jacob shook his head; his black hair shaking with every movement.

My stomach dropped slightly at the obvious distress in Jacob's body language.

"What happened?" I tried to control the worry I was feeling, but with no success. Jacob automatically knew I was worried and his face stiffened a little as he cleared his throat.

"Well, they could sense us, no matter how careful we were being. It wasn't a problem at first; they all just sat up right and looked in our general direction. So Sam decided we should split up, that way they couldn't watch us as easily. Besides there is only four of them and six of us. We all figured if there was a fight, 6 to 4 wasn't bad." I could see the smirk on Jacob's face as he played with the idea of four vampires getting their asses handed to them by him and his pack. I cleared my throat, annoyed, and began tapping my toe. Jacob quickly got the hint and continued. "Well, splitting up was not the best idea." Jacob growled. "As we moved to split up, we lost sight of two of them, this wasn't a big deal, there was no way they got around us, they were probably just trying to hide in the trees or something.

"Filthy blood suckers…" Jacob's fist began to shake wildly. I took a step back, slightly worried he would change here in my tiny kitchen and there wouldn't be enough space for his massive wolf form, but within a few seconds, he was calm again. "One of the males came out of no where and attacked Paul and Embry. He wasn't like any blood sucker we have ever seen. He moved faster, it was like he could see what they were going to do before they did it." Jacob paused and looked into my eyes, hoping for me to tell him if that's what happened, but I kept my mouth shut, I was stunned and needed to hear more. "Well, when we realized they were under attack and not doing so well, we were all trying to make our way over. We weren't even a few feet from them when one of the females dropped in on us. She landed directly on Sam, knocking him down."

"Is everyone all right?" I could only imagine what had really happened. I could see the wolves, circling the Theon, until Ares and Artemis got too annoyed with the intrusion and went to solve the problem. Carlisle had told me that Ares and Artemis enjoyed hunting and werewolves were their favorite. I bit my lip with anticipation as Jacob thought of how to answer.

"Paul got hurt pretty bad, but he'll heal fast. Sam broke his leg, but other than that no damage." Jacob looked a little confused at my concern for his pack, but shrugged. "We figured that maybe Victoria had sent these vampires after you. I had to come check on you." Jacob went to take a step closer to me, but stopped where he was. His eyes were concerned, but he tried to remain as distant as possible. "So, do you know anything about these vampires?" I looked in Jacob's eyes. There was no way I could tell him that they were here to determine my humanity. He would take this as a threat and decided to attack the Theon, hurting himself in the mean time. I couldn't allow that to happen. I cleared my throat; I knew I couldn't lie to Jacob. He would instantly know, so I decided to tell the half truth.

"Yes. They're actually friends of the Cullens, here just visiting." I heard the words come out of my mouth, and I wanted to slap myself in the forehead. It was the most unbelievably story I had ever told. There was no way Jacob was going to believe this, but it was all I could give him.

"I see." Jacob's jaw clenched; he knew I had lied and it had hurt him. Instantly I felt guilty, I couldn't look into his beautiful face, not knowing that I had caused the disappointment spreading across his features. "Well, since they attacked Paul and Sam, there is no way we can ignore their presence here. If we catch them, we'll have to attack." Jacob stared into my eyes and I began to feel panicked.

"What?!" Jacob jumped a little bit at the volume of my voice, but only from surprise. "You can't do that! Jacob, you can't fight them! Look what happened already! And that was only two of them! Please, Jacob, it's too dangerous." Jacob scoffed.

"Bella, they ambushed us. That won't happen again. We can take them" Jacob stepped closer to me when he saw that panic had not left my eyes and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Relax, we can handle this." I shook my head and was about to speak when the front door opened.

"Bells?" Charlie had finally come home. Jacob moved his hands from my shoulders and took a step back. When Charlie walked into the kitchen, he was slightly surprised when he saw Jacob standing in the kitchen, but it was a pleased kind of surprised. "Jake! What are you doing here? So glad to see you." Charlie was smiling from ear to ear; he wasn't like this when Edward was here. Jacob smiled politely.

"Hey Charlie. Just came by to see Bella." Jacob looked down at me slightly, his eyes looked almost pained as he looked at me, but Charlie didn't notice this, he was too busy making himself comfortable with the leftovers from dinner the night before.

"Great. You two haven't spent nearly enough time together." Charlie turned to look at us, still smiling. He definitely preferred Jacob to Edward, too bad I didn't feel exactly that way. Charlie motioned to the microwave, which he had just placed his food in. "Don't worry about dinner tonight, Bells. You and Jake just go out and have fun."

"Jacob and I aren't hanging out today. He just came by to say hi." The words fell out so quickly, so suspiciously, Jacob's eyes were on me in an instant. I knew he was trying to read my features; he was trying to find out why I was so eager to get rid of him. It wasn't like me; I loved spending time with Jacob, so when I quickly rebuffed the idea of doing just that, Jacob was suspicious. Just as his eyes finished scanning my face, his body went rigid and there was a knock at the door.

"I got it!" I ran to the door and pulled it open, figuring that Jacob was still in the kitchen. Edward was standing at the door, a disgusted look on his face. I felt warmth behind me and realized it was Jacob, I could hear growls coming from both of them. "Dad, I'm going out! I'll be home later." Charlie's head poked out from the refrigerator, he was trying to see who was at the door, but probably figured it out and then his happy tone vanished.

"Yeah, be home before ten." Charlie closed the fridge door just as the microwave went off, took his food, and disappeared into the living room. I sighed in relief and pulled Jacob outside with me. Edward stared at Jacob, low growls in his throat, which was being returned by the now shaking Jacob.

"Bella, we have to go now." Edward reached out for me hand with uncertainty, which I found odd. Nothing in this world could keep me from Edward Cullen. I placed my hand in his, but felt a sudden tug at my shoulder, Jacob was holding onto me.

"Bella, please, just be careful." I looked at Jacob; I couldn't take my eyes off of him. I knew that he meant what he said about keeping an eye out for the Theon, and if they were looking for him and his pack, something bad could happen to Jacob, I loosened his grip from my elbow and took his hand, squeezing it tightly, our eyes locked.

"You be careful too." Jacob looked into my eyes, I had no doubt he knew what I was referring to, because a small smile crept into the corners of his mouth, a boastful smile. I smiled back, but I had a sick feeling in my stomach, as if something horrible was coming. And with that, Jacob was gone.

Again, I was standing in the field. Again, I was facing the four most beautiful creatures I had ever seen. I was standing with the Cullens, behind six of them, standing in front of me in a V shape, all accesses were protect, but though they were all nervous, I felt safe. Standing next to Edward, no matter the situation, could calm any fear I could feel. The Cullens were all extremely still, like statues. I tried to mimic their immobility, but I had less grace and that annoying need to air. I stood, fidgeting in place; we had been standing in this one area for a couple of minutes, no sign of the Theon. I turned to Edward; he was just as stiff as the rest of the Cullens.

"Are they here?" I was growing impatient; it seemed like I had waited forever for my immortality, a few minutes longer would kill me. Edward didn't answer me, but his eyes were locked on something. I sighed and looked forward, almost falling back in surprise. Standing a few feet in front of the Cullens was two of the four Theon. Aphrodite, in all her beauty, was standing in front of Rosalie, in a dark, forest green dress. The dress was unlike what I was used to seeing wrapped around her tiny frame; this dress was not completely fitted to her form. It was an empire waist dress, fitted perfectly to her bust and around her waist, but flowed at the bottom. It was longer than what I was used to seeing her in also, this dress reached down to her knee, but she was still more beautiful than anything I have ever seen.

"Sorry, we're a little late. We got side tracked." Aphrodite turned and smiled at Poseidon, she laughed a little, it was an intoxicating sound. Poseidon looked at Aphrodite discouragingly, but with a smile on his eyes. He, again, wore plain clothes. A navy blue shirt and light blue jeans.

"My sincere apologies, I do hope you have not been waiting long." Poseidon scanned each face, yet he avoided mine. Then he looked around nervously to the side of him.

"We don't mind." Carlisle stepped forward slightly and as he did, the four other Cullens moved closer to fill in his gap. Poseidon watched as they all moved, one eye brow raised.

"What's this all about?" Artemis came out of the farthest end of the meadow; she dressed casually, as I would have expected. Loose fitting light jeans with a fitted black shirt. She looked at Poseidon and Aphrodite, with an almost confused expression on her face, and when they returned it, her eyes began to scan the trees around us. Carlisle raised his eyebrow to Artemis' question.

"What's going on?" Poseidon looked very angry as he looked to Artemis. The Cullens had obviously missed something and were now beginning to relax their statuesque stances. Edward relaxed instantly and moved away from me for a moment, taking one step forward.

"I don't know…" Artemis moved closer toward Aphrodite and Poseidon, her eyes still scanning the area around her. Her beautiful features, as well as those of her mate and her sister, were distorted into expressions of worry.

"What—? " I turned to Edward, confused as to what was happening, the rest of the Cullens gathered around him, with me beside Edward and Alice.

"Something's wrong." Edward spoke to the group, slightly worried. Carlisle nodded as everyone else looked to one another, their eyes lingering on Edward and Carlisle.

"Alice, did you see anything before we got here?" Carlisle looked to Alice, as did everyone else. Alice's wide eyes looked around to everyone and she sighed.

"I didn't see anything. Sorry." Alice looked over the group to the Theon, who were speaking to one another rapidly and then shrugged. "It's something big though." Edward nodded and sighed.

"Ares is missing…." My voice was low. I felt stupid saying this, but I had just realized the absence of one of the Theon, and I was surprised. Edward looked at me, his eyes furrowed. "Ares and Artemis attacked Jacob's pack two days ago…" Edward's eyes flew wide open, realization had hit him, but when he stood up to go toward the Theon, Aphrodite's eyes were glazed over. Artemis was standing beside her sister, ready to steady her when she came out of her vision, but her help was not needed. Aphrodite came out of it and instantly turned and ran. Artemis and Poseidon were not too far behind. Before I could ask what had happened, Edward had thrown me over his shoulder and was running.

The speed in which Edward was running at was new to me, he had never ran this fast, or maybe it was the fact that all of the Cullens were running behind us at a slower pace, but Edward was in a hurry. When the rushing wind stopped berating my ear drums, I looked around; we were no where near the meadow; in fact we were in the middle of the lush, green forest. At first, the sight was beautiful, I wanted to take it all in, but once I had turned around, all the beautiful foliage disappeared. Aphrodite was a few feet from me, kneeling on the ground sobbing as Artemis and Poseidon stood above her, holding one another with one arm, the other was on Aphrodite. It was a portrait of a tragedy. I stepped slightly closer, only for Edward to pull me back, and then I saw what Aphrodite was kneeling over. In the goddess of Love's lap, was the god of War's torso. Aphrodite was holding the torso of her mate, clawing at what she could get her hands on; tears streaming down her face, her cry echoed through the forest. My heart fell, I could only imagine her pain, and it would be as if I had lost Edward… if we were together for thousands of years.

"Wh..." I couldn't form any words; the pain I felt in my heart for Aphrodite was crushing me. Her cries were loud, filled with pain. As I looked around, I knew everyone was imagining this happening to them. Emmett held Rosalie closer, Alice and Jasper were closer than I had ever seen them, and Carlisle was holding Esme as she cried, but I could not let Edward touch me. I could not rub it in Aphrodite's face that she had lost him. Poseidon turned to me, his eyes burning with rage.

"Werewolves…" The one word made my stomach drop. Jacob; how could he do this? Put himself in such danger? My heart thudded, I looked down at Aphrodite, who dropped her head onto Ares' torso.

"My Ares! No! Not my Ares! Please, no!" The words were cries of pain. Her voice was broken with sorrow and I could do nothing but watch. "Ares! My love, my heart! My life! You can't leave me!!" She began to thrash the torso, causing loud thuds to sound though the trees. Artemis bent down next to her sister and began to hug her, trying to calm her. "He was so ignorant! So proud! My Ares, my God of War, please, please don't leave me for eternity without you!" Aphrodite's body collapsed onto Ares' torso, Poseidon dropped down to comfort her as Artemis stood up. Her eyes on the remains of her brother.

"Artemis…" Edward called out to her, his arm blocking me from moving any where near the grieving Theon. "Artemis." As Edward called her, Artemis moved her head slightly toward his voice, but something was different about her. Instead of her light, beautiful eyes, they had become dark. She turned her head toward Edward completely and I could see what Edward sensed. Artemis was gone.

"The price is high." With that Artemis disappeared from where she was into the trees.

"Bella…. We need to get in touch with Jacob… as soon as possible."Edward's body was stiff; my eyes were still glued to the scene in front of me. Aphrodite being comforted by Poseidon over the death of her mate. The price was high… but what would be the payment?


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

I will never forget the look on Artemis' face when she vanished into the foliage, or the look on Aphrodite's face as she held the torso of Ares, the only piece of him left, but what I will never forget is looking into the sky and seeing what I feared the most; purple smoke in the floating into the sky. My heart froze as I noticed the remaining Theon looking up to the smoke, uttering something under their breath as they saw it rising up toward the sky. Aphrodite's body froze as the purple cloud lifted to the sky, but her lips moved viciously. I couldn't take my eyes off of Aphrodite and Poseidon as they mourned Ares, I could only imagine how it would feel to loose someone they had known for thousands of years. Poseidon sighed as he pulled himself up from the ground, looking around. My eyes followed his gaze, that's when I noticed that Carlisle and Edward were the only Cullens left.

"We should burn the remains." Poseidon's eyes never turned back to Aphrodite, it was as if he were too ashamed to look at her after the suggestion he made. But the words didn't upset his sister. She merely looked down at the remains, laced her fingers down the chest and nodded. Poseidon turned to her again. "It would be my honor to carry him." Aphrodite nodded and lifted herself up in one graceful motion. Edward took my hand and followed Poseidon toward the body, which he picked up gently.

"Where has Artemis gone?" Edward stopped just before the trees began to crowd together, his arm wrapped protectively around my waist. Poseidon and Aphrodite stopped and turned to Edward and Carlisle, their beautiful faces were empty.

"She's gone to pay back the animals that did this." Aphrodite's voice was filled with anger and hate; it was hard to believe this was the same woman I had met days before, who seemed so happy.

"But this pack is large. She can't fight them alone." Edward's arm dropped from behind me and fell into my hand and he looked around the green foliage. Aphrodite and Poseidon looked to one another. I stepped forward angrily.

"She can't just kill them! They're only trying to protect their land! You can't just let her kill them!" Edward took a few steps back from the Theon, pulling me with him as Carlisle stepped forward.

"What Bella is trying to say is that she is friends with one of the members of the pack. We are extremely sorry for your loss, but is there anyway we could deter you from hunting them?" Carlisle truly sounded sorry for what had happened to Ares, sympathetic to their pain. Poseidon looked at Aphrodite quickly, who was looking away from everyone in front of her.

"We understand your concern, Bella. But you can not expect me to live the rest of eternity without my soul." Aphrodite looked at the torso of Ares, her eyes glistening. "They will have to suffer just as I will." Aphrodite said nothing more; she turned toward the trees and disappeared. Poseidon turned slightly.

"I am sorry for what must be done, but we have lost something that can never be replaced." Poseidon turned and disappeared with Aphrodite, leaving Edward, Carlisle, and myself. I was stunned, my body went frigid. Something bad was going to happen to Jacob and his pack. My eyes began to burn with tears.

"Edward, they're going to hurt Jacob or someone in the pack! This can't be happening!" My head was spinning, I was imagining what was going to happen or one of the other members of his pack, and I couldn't bear if one of them got hurt. This was my fault, like it was every time someone's life was in danger. Edward put his hands on my shoulders to steady me, but I could feel my knees giving in.

"Bella, it's okay. Don't worry, we'll try and find Artemis." Edward took me in his arms, almost instantly I felt calmer, but it lasted only momentarily. Edward's face turned toward the direction that Aphrodite and Poseidon had disappeared to. He sighed and shook his head, turning his attention to Carlisle. "We'll have to talk to them." As Edward spoke, Carlisle pondered what Edward meant.

"Maybe if we can reason with them, they can alleviate some of Artemis' grief." Carlisle spoke these words only to give me hope, because Edward knew the plan before Carlisle had even spoken it. I nodded, but when I saw Edward from the corner of my eye, I could see the doubt in his topaz eyes.

Without another word, we headed toward where Aphrodite and Poseidon disappeared to, though I couldn't see them or make any real guess as to where they were. I was perched on Edward's back, my hands tightly around his neck. It took only a few seconds until I could smell a sweet, sickening smell in the distance. When the wind finally stopped whipping against my face, I opened my eyes and saw a purple smoke that Poseidon and Aphrodite were standing barely far enough back to keep from burning themselves. Neither looked up, but they knew we were here.

"When I was a young mortal in my home village, there was a story told to young men and women." Aphrodite's eyes never moved from the fire that burned in front of her, the sweet smell the only thing left of Ares. My eyes moved from the fire to look behind me, where I had seen another smoke cloud, but instantly I looked back to Aphrodite, her story didn't seem directed to anyone in particular, but that's what made it interesting. "It was a tale about love and what one must do for their family…" Her eyes went dark, the crystal blue turned into a dark, and navy blue. I could feel a sudden surge of fear rise up in my stomach, but I forced it to retreat. "There was once a village only several miles from my own home where a group of immortals lived with their mortal women. The mortal women came from all the neighboring villages, offerings to the gods; only the most beautiful of women. That was the problem." Aphrodite sat down on the moist ground, obvious it didn't both her. "The village had one of the most beautiful women in all of my country; far more beautiful in her mortal form than I in my immortal." Although I knew she was telling the truth, why would she not, but I could not imagine anyone or anything as beautiful as she was.

"She was loved by the most powerful of the immortals, and she loved him back with as much passion, but there was a problem. Her family had not sent her to their village, the way most girls had ended up there. She left without their permission and knowledge. She did it for her own safety, in her mind." Poseidon looked away from the fire that was almost out, with an uneasy look. Aphrodite reached her hand up and took Poseidon's, gently. "She came from a village far from mine, and further from the one she disappeared to. She was from the village where the moon worshippers came from." My ears perked; werewolves. Aphrodite didn't pause. "She didn't know that her village housed such animals. The information was meant only for those whose child had been chosen by the moon, or for the wives of the chosen.

"Kalista was set to marry a man who loved her more than his own life…" Aphrodite scoffed. "I never thought such love could exist until…" She paused, her eyes closing tightly with a sharp inhale. She then spoke, eyes still closed. "She agreed to marry him for her family's sake. But on the night before her wedding, she stumbled dawn the hilltop and into the woods outside her village, on a night that the moon was high in the sky and she saw something that terrified her. Her husband had transformed into a large beast. She did not stay to witness, and that was when she met her immortal love; Zeus." Aphrodite's eyes moved to mine, I don't know if she was looking at me, or off in the distance. "When her family had learned the truth, the beasts came to decimate the village, but in their anger and rage, they only killed the mortals that lived in the village, including Kalista; leaving Zeus in pain. That was when it happened." Aphrodite didn't speak. No one spoke for a long moment, I wasn't until I heard Carlisle's voice did I realize the grief on Poseidon's and Aphrodite's faces.

"The legend of the Crimson Dawn." Carlisle's face was wide with understanding, he obviously knew what she was talking about, even though she did not acknowledge his answer, Poseidon was nodding, pain across his marble features; he was the one to continue the story.

"Zeus led all the immortals in his village to attack the village who had taken his love from him. His grief was so…" Poseidon stopped. "My brother only wanted his love back and, though I had not found a love of my own, I felt his pain and his love for her; so he and I led the immortals to the village of Kalista and we murdered every man, woman, and child. The hill was covered in their blood, every inch. And when the sun rose, it was a crimson dawn." Poseidon's eyes were dark, full of hatred. "We slaughtered the village of her family to make them pay. It became law among the immortals, the oldest of us, that if one of us suffers, we avenge them if possible; if just."

"Now we must follow law and destroy that which has destroyed my love." Aphrodite's words were strong, forceful, but her body remained on the ground, broken in its place by the remains of her love.

"But you can't do this! They didn't mean to hurt anyone; they were only protecting their people, the people of the area." The words came out too quickly, too full of anger to be conceived as anything other than a command. Aphrodite and Poseidon's eyes both landed on me, they burned with rage and pain. Edward quickly stood in front of me, while Carlisle spoke.

"Pardon Bella, she has become close friends with many of the wolves and does not want to see them harmed. Is there anyway we could resolve the issue at hand without violence?" Carlisle's voice was gentle, as it usually was, but his eyes were worried. It was as if he knew what the response would be from the grief on her face.

"Carlisle… I have nothing but respect for you, of all other immortals. You saw life the way we had been seen by my kind. There was no need to destroy human lives. But you have never lost what we have lost. Imagine loosing one of your children, your mate." Aphrodite spoke calmly, though you could see tears in her eyes. "You could never understand the pain we feel."All the sudden, Aphrodite's and Poseidon's eerie blue eyes jerked away from where Carlisle, Edward and I stood and landed on the trees in the distance. I wasn't aware that someone was standing behind me until Edward's hand wrapped tightly around my arm and pulled me behind him, a low growl in his throat. This confused me; it was only Artemis standing behind us, but the confusion only last a few moments. I looked into Artemis' once strangle beautiful blue eyes and could see that she was no longer there.

"The pain will last us an eternity. My sister chose Ares for herself; she created him herself out of love. I lost a brother; a friend. The story of Crimson Dawn did not just apply to the immortals, but to the members of my village as well. My father would tell us that story when we were young; to protect and avenge those we loved was a law not only amongst immortals, but mortals. I will not allow my sister to suffer when I have the power to stop it." Artemis' eyes landed on me. It was eerie how the blue eyes never blinked, never faltered. Then it hit me, something I never expected in my entire life. It was sadness, but so much more than that. It was so much that it made me feel like my heart was literally breaking into pieces. My body began to become limp as I thought of loosing Edward, having him with me, but then having it taken away from me, for all eternity.

"Artemis, stop that!" Edward growled, the words barely audible, but just as he spoke them, the thoughts of Edward being torn from me began to fade, but the memory of the pain stuck with me. I couldn't imagine being in that pain, it was unbearable, and Aphrodite was going through it.

"Why? Why should I stop, Edward? Several years ago you would have helped me with this, you would have avenged Ares. Now you stop because she wishes you too? Would that stop you if she was murdered?" Artemis and Edward stared at one another for a long time, neither moved. Of course, with my annoying habit of being human, I couldn't follow suit. I stuck out in the group of motionless immortals with sharp breaths.

"Edward, my only advice you to would be this…" Aphrodite's voice was still dead, there was no emotion as her eyes watched the fire burn out, become nothing but ash; this is what remained of her love, I winced at the thought and wondered if it was my own, or had Artemis made me think it. Aphrodite continued, even though Edward had not turned his attention to her, but her eyes moved to Carlisle. "Do not get in my way. If you do… I promise, my pain, will be yours." Edward's face jerked from Artemis' gaze and turned to Aphrodite, his eyes opened wide with fright.

"You… you wouldn't." Edward's words were meant to be more forceful, I imagined, but they came out draped with fear and worry. At first I was confused, what had she meant? Then, as Edward's cold hands reached for my waist and Carlisle stepped in front of me did it hit me. If Edward got in their way, they would kill me. I swallowed hard, feeling as if my throat was closing. Artemis smirked as she looked at the response these words caused; she knew there would be no fight now.

"Artemis!" Poseidon's voice was angry, just as his eyes. He sounded what, as I remembered, a child being scolded. It was alarming, I jumped slightly in the air, the ferocity of his voice scared me, but the look in Artemis' eyes was what alarmed me the most. She was almost terrified. I assumed she had never heard this from him before, especially since her jaw dropped in a shocked fashion. "We do not threaten the lives of humans; you as well as I know this."

"Poseidon…" Artemis began but Poseidon put his hand up to silence her, which she did instantly. It appeared to me that even after thousands of years, she still believed that she had to do as her man told her.

"I loved Ares just as much as you, and the pain Aphrodite feels is just as painful to me, but the times have changed." Poseidon's eyes turned to the ash on the ground in front of him and he watched as Aphrodite ripped off the lower part of her dress off, making her dress much shorter. She delicately picked up the ashes of Ares and placed them into the ripped off piece of her dress, wrapped him up tightly, there was no way she would loose any of him.

"Yes, Poseidon, times have changed. I lost my love, my life; that is the only change I see." Aphrodite was standing now, next to Poseidon, her eyes narrowed at him. There was a pause, no one moved, I could taste the tension.

"We can not go around killing mortals. This is not the same as what Zeus had done. This is a different time. We can't just kill these men." Poseidon looked to Artemis, his eyes softened as he saw the rage in hers; it was as if they were sharing their thoughts. Artemis' eyes softened, and instantly she pulled hey eyes away from Poseidon. "I can't have that kind of blood on my hands again, Artemis. I can not do that again…." Poseidon watched as Artemis' face went through several thoughts and without a word she looked up, pain in her eyes, then disappeared. There was a clap of thunder as clouds began to roll in much faster than usual. My eyes instantly looked up to the sky, the clouds we black, darker than I think I had ever seen them before. "You should go…. Warn your friends." My eyes moved from the sky to Poseidon, whose body was limp, his face destroyed.

"I thank you for standing aside." Edward's body became relaxed next to me as he reached out to Poseidon for a hand shake. "I just do not understand why Artemis is so determined. I have never known her to do anything without listening to reason." Poseidon chuckled involuntarily. Though his lips were curled into a smile, it didn't reach his eyes, instead his eyes were distant.

"Go warn your friends. I will see what I can do about Aphrodite. I feel as if she will listen better than Artemis." Edward raised an eyebrow in confusion; Poseidon sighed and placed a hand on the bridge of his nose."

"I will need you to explain that." Edward's voice was on edge, he seemed nervous, as if he didn't like the hidden meaning behind the words, or maybe he didn't like the thoughts that accompanied the words.

"Warn your friends. I will return to your home after I have spoken with Aphrodite." It began to rain, small droplets at first, but by the time Edward had thrown me on his back and we made it back to the Cullens house, the sky had opened up and it was pouring.

"Bella." Edward's cold hand was on my face, I hadn't realized that I was unresponsive until I saw the concerned look in his eyes. When I finally blinked, which felt like it had been so long my eyes were so dry, Edward's face was relaxed. "Can you make it to La Push? Emmett, Jasper, and myself will follow you as far as we can. Can you make it, Bella?" I nodded weakly. The thought hadn't entered my mind yet, but I knew it was in Edward's. I would be followed by the strongest of the Cullens just in case the Artemis and Aphrodite were in La Push. I swallowed hard and nodded, Edward nodded back to me. "I'll drive you as far as I can... just to save us time. Let's go."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

La Push was empty, as if they knew something was coming into the small reservation; I sudden had an eerie feeling as I pulled the shiny silver Volvo in front of the Black's small house. As I turned the ignition off, I stared into the window, wondering what had happened with Ares. Had it been Jacob's idea to attack Ares, or Sam's? Had Jacob landed the final blow onto Ares, or not? My stomach turned as I thought of these questions. It was hard to imagine Jacob fighting a vampire, I had seen how strong a vampire could be, and I always thought of Jacob as human, fragile. I was now being forced to think of how Jacob had killed a vampire who seemed to be genuinely kind and who had a family, someone who loved them more than anything. My heart tightened in my chest and before I could control myself, Jacob's body was coming toward me, an angry expression smeared across his face. I took in a deep breathe and got out carefully, my legs were weak.

"Is he here?" Jacob's eyes scanned the trees behind me. I was confused for a minute; I hadn't even given any thought to the car I had driven here. It was Edward's car, which Jacob concluded meant that Edward wasn't too far. I shook my head weakly.

"No, he's not here." I walked toward Jacob and as I did, I could see his body relax, but I also saw something else. There were scratches all over his face, several bite makes on his arms and neck. I took in a sharp gasp, those were from Ares. I knew there was no way that Ares wouldn't go down without a fight, but I didn't expect to actually see these marks. Jacob healed so quickly. I reached out for one of the deep scratches in his chest, but Jacob's big hand come out and wrapped around my wrist.

"It's nothing." Jacob's eyes moved slowly from the forest behind me, down to my eyes. "What are you doing here, Bells?" A smile spread across his features, it was obviously a forced smile, but it was appreciated none the less. I smiled back, just as forced sighed.

"I really need to talk to you Jacob…" He nodded, solemnly, as if he knew that what we were about to discuss was not something to be taken lightly. In one swift motion, Jacob had turned his back to me and made his way toward his garage. I tried not to think of all the times I had spent with him in this place, how often we had just hung out back here, while I was trying to avoid the rest of the world. I sighed as Jacob stepped into the garage and turned to me, just as I had gone over the threshold.

"What's up, Bella?" I tried my best to avoid Jacob's eyes; I could feel the tears burning in the back of mine as I remembered all the time we had spent together, back when he was my best and nothing was complicated. I cleared my throat as I turned my gaze to Jacob's, his eyes were pleading, almost fearful. He was expecting something from me, he was begging me to tell him something, but I had nothing for that gaze. My heart began to race; I clutched my chest, just in case it decided to throw itself out of my chest.

"Jacob… what happened to you?" I eyes grazed along his upper body, where all the scratches and bruises lay, not looking as if they had healed at all. Jacob cleared his throat and moved his arms in an awkward fashion, as if he wanted to cover the wounds, but at the same time, not wanting to do so.

"We had some problems with some vampires." Jacob's answer was short, but I could see that there was more to the story than he was letting on. I waited for a minute, and when he had nothing left to add, I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him a look that could only be interpreted as a scolding looked. He groaned. "Come on, Bella. Don't give me that look."

"Jacob, you have no idea what's going on now; what could happen to you!" My arms feel from my chest and landed by my side weakly as the very real possibility of his imminent danger crept into my mind. My stomach began to tighten as his face remained nonchalant. I wanted to hit him, right in his face, but I knew it would hurt me and not him. "You killed one of four very old vampires, Jacob! Two of them are now going to hunt you and probably kill you!" Jacob raised an eyebrow curiously; genuinely confused.

"Bella, we didn't kill any vampires." Jacob's tone wasn't comforting, instead it was disappointed. I knew he hated vampires, but that was because he didn't see a distinction between any of them, not like I did. I glowered at him, until I realized that what he said was true. Jacob wouldn't lie to me about this, especially since I could tell when he lied. My eyes opened wide with realization, just then I threw myself into his large, warm body. For a minute, Jacob's body didn't move, and when he did, he pulled me much closer to his body than I had thought humanly possible. I coughed, struggling for breath, and almost instantly, his huge arms let me down.

"Then what happened to you?" I touched over one of his scratches and instantly, Jacob pulled back. He shrugged, running a massive hand through his, now growing, black hair. I watched as he scratched behind his ear and thought about telling me what had happened or not, then after a few quiet seconds, he shrugged.

"We were running a patrol. I picked up the scent of a vampire, but I recognized it as one of the ones you had mentioned, from when they had picked a small fight with us." Jacob's jaw clenched as he remembered what it was like to have Artemis and Ares running circles around him and his pack; it wasn't something he liked. He continued. "So, I followed the scent, and when I got to this small clearing in the forest, I saw a fight going on. There was that vampire with the female that attacked us; the others fighting him we didn't know. There were about eight or so vampires ganging up on just him." Jacob's eyes scanned the small garage, but I knew he smelled outside, far beyond the trees. "The one you knew wasn't doing so bad, he threw a couple so far that they never came back. It was amazing watching him; it was like he was predicting their moves, or maybe even scaring them off. When Sam realized he was a friend of the Cullens," My eyebrow raised then quickly dropped. Werewolf trick, reading each other's minds. I nodded to myself. Jacob waited for me to figure this out, then continued. "So, Sam decided we should help him out, but not all of us, just in case.

"Sam and I went into the fight, but just as we entered, one of the attackers looked in our direction. He was huge. We thought he was going to charge us, but he continued to fight the one you knew, with a smirk." Jacob threw his head back and groaned. "Well, it got a little confusing; the one you knew attacked me and Sam until we had no choice but to leave. When we left him he was alive. Severely out numbered, but alive." I watched as Jacob finished his story; I waited for more information, but figured there was nothing else. I looked away, toward the door, hoping Edward could hear every word, but doubted it at the same time. I looked up, curiously, to Jacob's face.

"What did these vampires look like?" Jacob shrugged.

"Most of them looked like the usual vampire. Most were men, I think there may have been one female. You know the deal, blood red eyes. Pale skin…" Jacob paused, looking as if he were remembering something odd. "Well, except two of them." He shrugged again, my eyes pleading him to continue. "Two of them looked like they were tan, but covered in chalk or something. One of huge, a giant. The other one not so much, but he and the huge one seemed to be in charge." Pictures flew into my mind, of Volterra, Italy, standing in front of the Volturi, and looking around at his guard. There were several vampires, but I could only remember a few. Jane and Alec, I would never forget them, along with Aro, Caius, and Marcus. But there were a few, without the ability to scare me the way they could with their powers. It was Demetri and Felix that came to mind. Felix was the huge one that Jacob had just described, and Demetri would also be in charge, being such a great tracker. I gasped. "Bella? What's wrong?" Jacob's eyebrows furrowed with worry, as my body went limp with fear.

"Demetri and Felix!" My body went from limp to rigid. Jacob's hands were instantly on my shoulders. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of me for a minute, then it hit. The Volturi guard was here, they killed Ares. But why? I thought hard for a minute, until Jacob shook me out of my thoughts. His eyes flooded with worry. "Jacob, I have to go find Edward." Jacob growled. "Don't. This is important. Those vampires were sent here for a reason and it can't be good. They made it seem like you killed Ares… which means Artemis and Aphrodite are coming for you. I have to talk to Edward; he might be able to stop them." Jacob looked down at me with hurt in his eyes; I imagined this was because I was running to Edward for help, when, not a year ago, Jacob was my only source of solace. I sighed, grab Jacob's hand and put it to my face, with a smile. "Can you try and stay safe? Don't go looking for any vampires?" Jacob let out a deep laugh; it was the laugh I loved more than any other laugh. It was his laugh. I wanted to join him, but I was being extremely serious. As I looked over the wounds all over Jacob's torso, I could see how much more damaged Aphrodite and Artemis could inflict upon him. My throat tightened, my hands reached up to Jacob's arm and I squeeze. "Please, for me?" The smile faded, the left side of his lip turned down; a grimace on his once child like face.

"You know I can't say no to you." Jacob's voice tried to make the mood light, but I could feel the heavy pressure coming down on us, the pressure of worry. I watched as Jacob looked into my eyes and thought about what he should do. He could follow my request, but if Sam told him to do so, he would have to. "How bad is it?"

"Bad." Jacob nodded. I could see the gears moving in his head. He was considering what he had seen in the field, how he watched Ares fight. He had even said himself that he was impressed by the way he saw Ares fight, his ability to predict the movements of his opponents. Jacob's forehead furrowed into aggravation, I knew he hit the thought about what two of these vampires could do, and he groaned.

"Fine. I'll let Sam know what's going on." Jacob turned his head away from me, probably in anger and embarrassment. I just watched his facial expressions, hoping there wouldn't be any kind of retaliation in his look, but was glad to not find any. "What about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you safe?" Jacob's question caught me off guard. He was the one in immediate danger, and he was asking if I was safe? My face must have shown my confusion, because Jacob grabbed my face in his huge hands and pulled me closer to his face. "Bella, you have to tell me. Are you safe? I'm not going to sit around and do nothing if something could happen to you." There was pain in Jacob's eyes, it was evident, and that paint was at the thought of what could happen to me. I reached up to touch his hands, with a weak smile.

"I'll be safe, I promise you." I thought to myself for a minute before I said this, because I didn't want to lie. I began to rationalize with myself. Technically, I wasn't lying; Jacob and his pack had nothing to do with Ares' death, therefore if Edward interfered merely to point that fact out, I should be safe. Of course I would never tell Jacob this; he wouldn't allow me to risk any part of me for him. After I had said good bye to Jacob, a quick good bye so that my promise seemed more realistic, I made my way back to where Edward said he would be waiting for me, the side of the road right before La Push, where he was allowed. When I finally got to the point where he said to meet him, Edward was already on the side of the road, leaning against a tree.

"How'd it go?" Edward's eyebrow was raised as I slid into the passenger seat so that he could drive. I saw my face in the reflection of his eyes, I looked worried, but at the same time hopeful. I took in a deep breath and began explaining.

"Jacob and his pack weren't even there when Ares was killed. Jacob says that they stumbled into a fight between Ares and some vampires he didn't recognize. I think it was Demetri and Felix." Edward's face didn't match the one I had when I realized this. Edward was thinking about something, thinking hard. I saw his jaw set in anger.

"Why would they do this? Eliminate one of the Theon. If they find out, the Volturi will pay…" Edward's arms steered the roads he knew so well, his eyes not even focusing on the road. His mind was elsewhere, trying to figure out what was going on. I could almost see the gears grinding in his head.

"Well, what do we do?" I watched as my words barely touched Edward as he thought carefully. I opened my mouth to ask the question again, when I realized we were closing into the Cullen's house, going much faster than I thought necessary.

"Poseidon is back. He spoke with Artemis and Aphrodite, maybe if we explain to him that the Volturi sent Demetri and Felix, Artemis will hear his thoughts and stop what she has no doubt has planned to do." I raised my eyebrow in confusion, why could she not just read my thoughts about what was happening?

"Edward, why can't she just read my thoughts, or yours?" Edward's eyebrows were still furrowed as he thought; his golden eyes fixed on the turn he was about to take to where his house was, no doubt listening to the thoughts inside.

"Well, she can hear us, but she's probably assuming that we're thinking these thoughts to stop her. Then again… she would know if we were forcing a thought." Edward's face looked full of anger. "I don't know what's happening… Poseidon will." It was strange, Edward depending on someone else's knowledge of another's mind. Edward was use to not being able to read my mind, no one else's, but it seemed that Artemis and the Theon had blocked their minds, making Edward extremely annoyed.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer - Same as always; I do not own twilight or any of it's characters. I have simply added my own characters and own plot to an existing story.

Chapter 13

"I don't understand. What happened, exactly?" I watched as every Cullen stared at Poseidon as Alice asked him to repeat his story. Poseidon had returned shortly before Edward and I, but not as he left us. He had a few bluish marks on his face, small, fading, but that wasn't what I saw. I could see that he looked older, which I knew was impossible, but the sadness on his face made him look ancient, lost. He sat on the decorative couch, directly in the middle without moving.

"They will not be convinced to stop. They will believe nothing else we tell them." Poseidon's eyes stared straight ahead, unmoving until he heard me suck in a sharp breath, then he looked to me. His blue eyes, still blue even though I knew he had not hunted since he came here, burned with sadness.

"This makes no sense. Artemis had always been the one to think logically, I've never known her to jump to conclusions. She has a mind that sees things from every angle."Edward wasn't speaking to anyone in particular, but Poseidon's eyes jumped from my face to Edward's, and he growled lightly.

"That's how she is with much difficulty and control… control that she has learned over centuries." Poseidon watched as Edward's eyes lifted to his, in questions. Trying to read Poseidon's mind, but I assume failing, because Poseidon continued. "Artemis has not always been controlled. When she was mortal, Artemis had such a temper. That was why she never married." Poseidon smirked, obviously looking back on a memory. "So many men wanted to marry her, just as many wanted her sister. But she wanted none of them and would show her disapproval with her temper. After centuries of learning to control hers emotions, she lost it all upon feeling the sharp pain of her sister." Poseidon looked down hurt, thinking. I tried to imagine what a human Artemis or Aphrodite looked like, but it was impossible. So, instead I looked around the room. Rosalie held an annoyed look on her face as she sat in the corner of the room with Emmett, it was obvious she didn't want to be here, she was only there for her family. Emmett, one arm thrown around her shoulders and the other in his pocket, looked anxious. He wanted a decision made, faster. Jasper and Alice were sitting on the floor, close by one another. Alice looked as he she were trying to see what was coming, but to no avail, just as Edward was failing to read Poseidon's mind.

"Poseidon, I appreciate you joining us in protecting those who were framed, but is there absolutely no way to stop Artemis and Aphrodite?" Carlisle had his arm around Esme's shoulder as they stood in the threshold, just beside Edward and me. My eyes quickly glanced at them and I imagined what it was like to be able to be with the person you love for eternity. I sighed internally at the thought, because it only brought back the harsh reality. Aphrodite had just lost her love, her reason for being, and that had caused her to become extremely angry, possibly homicidal.

"I was not lying when I said nothing would stop them. They are feeding off of one another's pain, even my own pain." Poseidon rose from the couch in a swift, delicate motion and looked out the window, his eyes staring straight again, as though he was looking at something in particular. "That is why they will not see reason. Aphrodite can only see images of Ares' past and what would have been his future. She sees these things as if he was still alive, and because of this, Artemis can read the thoughts of Ares from these memories. With Aphrodite forcing up these memories, I feel the pain she feels now, along with the love they felt between one another, just something else for Artemis to read and transmit to the rest of the group. All of this pain is pushing Artemis into a wild state, a state our kind does not enter. It is very much like what your newborn vampires are like, but with much more fury." Poseidon's fists clenched, his jaw set in place, he seemed angry, but at what we were not sure, instead, everyone was pulled from their own thoughts in confusion.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Edward's voice broke, speaking the words the entire room thought, except me. All I had caught was that Artemis was entering a state like the newborn state, it made sense. She lost her mate, she would go crazy and want revenge, and even I would, though it would be futile.

"Edward, we do not have much time. We must find them before something happens." Poseidon turned on his heels and began to make a motion to the door but stopped, to look back at the Cullens. "My Artemis and Aphrodite will not stall long. They are merely grieving appropriately before battle. I do not know how long they will wait, it could be weeks, and it could be moments. We must find them first. I will explain the differences in our species once my family is back…." Poseidon turned toward the door, but just as he walked away, I heard the most pained words I ever have, "what if left of them at least." I wanted to grab Poseidon and hug him, to comfort him in some way. No creature deserved to be so pained, but I held myself back and watched as Poseidon left and the Cullens stood around staring at one another.

"Edward… you have to help him." I could only muster enough strength in my voice to side with Poseidon. Edward looked down at me, his eyes at first were empty, but upon seeing the expression on my face, he melted. The emotions I felt must have been written on my face, because all of the Cullens looked to me with sympathetic eyes, then back to one another.

"I can understand if no one here is going to help, but I have to." Jasper was standing at the stairwell, with Alice slightly behind him. The look on his face was determination; no one would be able to sway him. Alice must have known this, because she had her hand on his shoulder, not to hold him back, but to let him know she was with him. "No one could feel the pain from him like I could. I'm helping him get Artemis and Aphrodite back."

"It's not right to let him suffer like this and not help. He just wants to leave with what he has left in his life." Alice was speaking quickly behind Jasper. She stepped in front of him and stared at Edward. No doubt Alice was telling Edward why she was doing this, maybe to persuade him, maybe to convince him not to fight against Poseidon, but whatever it was, it was private.

"Alice, Jasper we need to discuss this as a family first. I understand your feelings. I feel horrible for this clan also, but we shouldn't split up, especially since the Volturi are involved." Carlisle moved his arm from Esme and began to pace the room, he was moving at a human pace, and I assumed he was so used to it that it was comfortable. Jasper and Alice stood still for a minute, watching Carlisle, until Edward spoke.

"I agree with Alice and Jasper." Carlisle stopped instantly and looked into Edward's eyes. Edward looked back, his expression sad. "Poseidon just wants his family back so he can leave. He would help any one of us if we asked this of him." Carlisle looked into Edward's eyes for a minute, then Edward nodded and Carlisle gave a weak smile.

"Well…" Carlisle stopped for a minute and then looked to Esme; he looked into her eyes intently. The pair stared at one another, I watched as emotions passed through their eyes, love, pain, then sadness. They were imagining life without one another. "We have no choice. We have to assist Poseidon in retrieving Artemis and Aphrodite before they kill innocents." Every stood instantly, Emmett with a smile on his face.

"Finally, a plan of action! I was starting to get antsy." Emmett looked around, a broad smile spread across his face. He was the first to make his way to the door. I watched as all the Cullens made their way to the door, and just as Alice and Jasper left, I stood alone in the room with Edward and Carlisle. I turned to leave, but a gentle tug on my elbow turned me around.

"You're not coming." Edward's eyes were almost angry as he looked into mine. The topaz had almost completely melted out of his eyes, making the anger very real. My jaw dropped to fight, but Edward put his finger to my mouth. "I can't risk losing you." I looked into Edward's eyes. I wanted so much to fight with him about this, I had to be there, I had to help him, but as I looked into those eyes I had come to love more than my own life, I knew I had to stay behind. There was always the possibility that I could be in the wrong place at the wrong time and be killed. Though I would never admit this to Edward, I knew it was a possibility, but this wasn't why I knew I couldn't go. I knew I had to stay behind because of what would happen to Edward if something happened to me. Aphrodite's face flashed in my mind, her expression as she stood over Ares' torn torso. That was all that was left of her love, her life. I could hear her pained cries in my ears, but they were slowly being replaced. Her body disappeared as my mind pictured Edward standing over my lifeless body. Now I could see his pained face, hear his horrid cries and I knew I couldn't go.

"I understand…" I looked into Edward's eyes and lifted my hand to his cheek. I began to stoke his face gently. I had seen utter loss, I had heard the screams of pain and I could not cause them to Edward. I had to stay behind. Edward smiled weakly, appreciation spreading across his marble features. With a sigh he turned to Carlisle.

"I'll have Alice watch her." Edward's cold hand reached up and swept my hair from my face in a gentle movement, a small smile on his lips. "My sweet Bella, the love of my forever." His lips touched mine every so slowly, it was one of the most meaningful moments of my life. It wasn't a goodbye kiss, but a kiss to seal our fates that were tied together. Edward and I were one in the same; our lives were entangled for all eternity. Just as Edward pulled away from me, I saw Alice standing in the door way, a sad smile on her face.

"I'll take care of her, Edward." Alice's voice reached my ears long after it had reached Edward, but he waited a lot longer than I thought he would. After a few lingering moments, Edward and Carlisle left the Cullen's home, leaving Alice and I. My eyes followed Edward long after I couldn't see him; I didn't budge until Alice placed her hand in mine gently.

"Don't worry I've got your live coverage, right here." Alice smiled and pointed to herself as she led me to the couch. She leaned back; her fingers pinched the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes and focused. "It may take some time."

Ten minutes had passed in silence as Alice tried to focus enough to see what was going to happen. Alice seemed to be getting frustrated as time passed, she couldn't get a good vision of what was going to happen, and she was becoming anxious for Jasper's sake. She groaned in frustration then looked back at me, pleading eyes.

"I can't see anything. I can't see around the werewolves or the Theon. I can barely see Jasper." Alice threw her face in her hands with a groan. I began to feel guilty, because Alice would be able to join them if it weren't for me. We sat in silence for a minute, until Alice spoke. "I don't blame Aphrodite." Her eyes were distant, she wasn't having a vision, but she was thinking to herself. I looked at her confused.

"What do you mean?" Alice's eyes turned to me slowly; she sat straight up then examined me for a minute then nodded.

"I got a quick glimpse the future her and Ares were meant to have when she was trying her powers on you. She let her guard down and I saw what she knew was in store for her and Ares." Alice looked away from me again, her eyes moved to her own hands, folded on her lap. "She saw every happiness she wanted in life in his eyes. Every romance in the history of the world couldn't touch what they had." Alice sighed heavy, and then continued. "When we came through the woods and saw Aphrodite bent over Ares' torso, my worse fears were realized. A life without the one I love. She lost her entire future in that one instance. I could never lose Jasper that way." I watched as Alice's eyes glazed over and she searched the future, looking for Jasper. She sighed in exasperation then threw herself back against the couch.

"I'm sorry you're stuck here." I looked away, feeling slightly ashamed that I was the reason she had to stay away from Jasper. Alice was quiet; she didn't move a muscle for a long time. I figured she was still trying to get visions of what was to come and so I waited patiently. I hadn't seen her move from her spot next to me until Alice was standing over me, eyes looking to the window intently. I watched as her eyes narrowed in, then lost focus again. Alice held this position for awhile until she looked back at me.

"Looks like either way would have been a waste of my time." Alice skipped to the door and held it open for an unknown visitor. I looked out the window and saw nothing; everything was as it had been a moment ago. I looked at Alice as if she had lost her mind, but she looked back at me as confidently as ever. I opened my mouth to speak, but just as I did, there was a flash through the door and there stood Aphrodite. She looked slightly worn out; I figured she must have been emotionally drained. Her blue eyes looked around curiously.

My jaw hung open as Aphrodite stood in the middle of the room, her eyes darting from me to Alice. She looked slightly confused at the empty room. There was a long pause in the room; the only noise was my breathing. After several more minutes Aphrodite's body relaxed, her eyes didn't dart back and forth anymore, instead her eyes focuses in front of her, narrowed with frustration.

"Where is everyone?" Aphrodite turned and faced Alice, her blue eyes looking angry. She asked the question, but it was obvious she didn't need an answer. The second after she asked the question, Aphrodite nodded her head in understanding; she didn't need to know what Alice was going to say. Aphrodite must have just used her power to see the past of what had happened almost an hour ago. "So they went to stop Artemis." This wasn't a question. Alice cleared her throat.

"Well, they went to bring her back." Alice seemed almost nervous; she slowly moved to block Aphrodite from me, which I could not understand. "We learned it wasn't the werewolves… We didn't want you two making a mistake…" Aphrodite's thin eyebrow rose curiously.

"Why do you think I'm here?" Aphrodite folded her arms over her chest and watched as realization hit us. "I was so crazed with my loss… I didn't know what to do… I never saw it coming… How could I not have seen it coming?" Aphrodite was speaking to herself at this point, pacing back and forth, her eyes looked crazed, almost. "Our futures were tied. I never saw myself living without him… never for a moment. I saw him the moment I opened my eyes to this new life. Why would the fates torment me so? This is a curse… have hurt so many… it's my turn…" I watched as the pain came back into her eyes, she was lost in her thoughts, lost in the realization that she was alone now. My heart ached for her. I felt sick it hurt so much.

"Aphrodite. Why are you here?" Alice seemed less concerned about Aphrodite's feelings, she was more urgent. Aphrodite had lost her mate; Alice didn't want to suffer the same fate.

"I learned the truth… Artemis and I had just found the wolf pack we believed killed Ares. We were planning an attack when all the sudden, I was hit with a vision." Aphrodite closed her eyes and shook her head. "I saw my Ares through their eyes. I saw his struggle." A faint smile grew on the side of her mouth. "My dearest was always a fighter…" The smile dropped from the corner of her mouth. "He was never a coward, like the lackeys of the Volturi. Demetri and Felix will die by my hand…" Aphrodite growled, I saw her lower lip tuck into her mouth as she bit down hard. "That is why I am here. I came to ask for help. I needed help in convincing Artemis… I thought maybe Poseidon could help."

"But Poseidon already tried to convince you both to stop." Alice was still standing in front of my, her arms spread out in front of me, only slightly; so as not to seem too obvious.

"I know this, I was there." Aphrodite bit back at Alice's comment. Alice looked shocked for a minute, but then recovered as Aphrodite cleared her throat. "He did come to us, but he didn't handle it well. He was gentle, caring when he should have been violent." Aphrodite walked back and forth, she looked angry. "I should never have expected Poseidon to be angry with Artemis; they've had one fight in over two thousand years." Aphrodite shook her head, then, without warning, her eyes glazed over. She was having a vision, probably the vision Alice had been waiting for.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer : I do not own Twilight/NewMoon/Eclispe/BreakingDawn or any of the characters associated with it. I simply placed my own plot (the story of the Theon) over one that already exists.

This is the final chapter

* * *

Chapter 14

Aphrodite's vision wasn't long, in fact, it was relatively quick. It must have been only about a second, but it was long enough for Aphrodite to look around nervously and begin to move quickly in response. I watched as she moved back in forth, pacing and speaking quickly. She was dressed simply, she probably saw that it would be an inconvenient for her to wear one of her dresses, so instead she wore a pair of jeans that fit well, but with a little breathing room and an almost skin tight gray t. I looked down with a stifled smirk; she still wore a pair of silver stilettos, still a touch of beauty to her already inconceivable beauty.

"You and Bella will have to come with me." I looked back up quickly to see her piercing blue eyes staring back into mine, with a slight look of annoyance. I instantly looked away, but could still see Alice step forward quickly from the corner of my eye.

"I don't think so. She's safer here." Alice was standing in front of Aphrodite, her arms crossed over her chest in defiance. I wanted to reach out and pull Alice away, I was afraid Aphrodite would hurt her, but Aphrodite merely mimicked her stance.

"Actually, she's not." Aphrodite raised a thin eyebrow and shook her head. "The power you're kind wields is so weak. The vision I just had, not a moment ago, was one of Bella… She was sitting in Edward's room when the lackeys of the Volturi came and tore her to shreds." Such a blunt way to tell me how I would die, Alice cringed. I could hear a growl in her throat. "That will happen, I assure you, unless you come with me… She will be safer with the rest of your family."

"Who is trying to stop your sister from killing the werewolves. How do I know you're telling the truth and not just trying to lure Bella somewhere to kill her?" Alice took a few steps back until she could wrap her arms around me in case of an emergency. Aphrodite seemed peeved at this.

"If I wanted to kill her, I'd do it right now." Alice growled loudly, she took a defensive stance in front of my, leaving Aphrodite laughing. "Alice, I have no desire to kill her. I just lost my mate, I could never do that to someone else." I saw Aphrodite's hand reach up and touch a small vile strung through a gold chain around her neck. Inside the vile was something gray, something painful to her. "If you want to wait and see them show up, that's fine, but I won't be here and you'll mostly be torn to pieces seconds after they do the same to Bella." I swallowed hard, I wasn't so worried about me, but I feared for Alice. Alice didn't react the way I thought she would, instead of being aggressive, she thought for a moment.

"Why would the Volturi want Bella and me dead?" Alice raised her eyebrow in disbelief. She knew that the Volturi were interested in Bella, especially the fact that their special powers didn't work on her. Also the Volturi were interested in Alice.

"These vampires are young and do not understand their powers yet. So, they may go a little overboard with Bella. But, since you are a vampire, when they tear you apart, it will be no problem. You'll be able to…" Aphrodite smirked evilly and patted the vile around her neck. "Pull yourself together." Alice groaned and grabbed her head with one hand. She sat there thinking, or trying to force a vision, I wasn't sure.

"All right." I was taken aback by Alice, her facial expression seemed like she didn't agree, but she did nonetheless. Aphrodite seemed pleased as she grasped her hand tightly over the vile around her neck. Alice turned to me and shrugged. "I don't see anything happening to you if we go find them. And it would be safer for you if we're with Edward and Carlisle." I watched as Alice's eyes glazed over slightly, then looked at me with concern.

"See, things are just easier if you listen to me…" Aphrodite smiled as she stepped around me toward the door, then she began to mutter. "I always told you I knew best, but you couldn't listen to me, you just had to do this to me…" I turned to see what she meant by this, but when I turned around, Aphrodite wasn't speaking to me or Alice, instead she had the vile in her hands and she was speaking to it. I watched as her blue eyes looked into the vile of ashes pleadingly, hoping for some kind of response and when it didn't come, I saw the crushing blow kill her a little more. When she realized I was looking at her, I could hear a low growl as she clutched the vile protectively. All the sudden I felt an urge I couldn't resist to look away and feel unbelievably ashamed. Alice pulled me away when she heard the growling.

"Where are they?" Alice had her arms around me, protectively. I watched as Aphrodite tucked a stray strand of her beautiful dark red hair behind her ear. Her hair was in a ponytail, but it was in no way ordinary on her it was painfully exquisite. She cleared her throat, her hands never moving from the vile.

"A clearing… not far from the meadow… we made it ourselves." She seemed pleased with herself, but it didn't last long. She looked into Alice's eyes and then quickly turned on her silver stilettos and exited the house. "Follow." With that one word, she was out of site and Alice had scooped me up to follow.

When Alice finally stopped running, I could see Edward. He was in an offensive stance beside Carlisle, Emmet, and Jasper. I wondered to myself where Rosalie and Esme were, until they appeared beside us.

"What are you doing here?" Rosalie's voice was filled with annoyance. She wasn't fond of me, of this I was sure, but there was something in her expression I was unsure of… concern? Alice shrugged with a heavy sigh.

"Aphrodite said it was dangerous if we stayed at the house." Alice said it as if she still didn't believe what she was told. Esme and Rosalie looked at her, then at each other. Alice raised an eyebrow to them.

"Edward said that the Volturi were going to the house… " Esme put her hand in mind and squeeze gently, then she let go and stood in front of me as did Rosalie. I looked to Alice, but she didn't seem shocked as I thought she would. I knew she didn't believe Aphrodite, so I was confused. I thought for a second on why Alice would do something Aphrodite asked without any proof. I hadn't thought long on this, because I was distracted by what was going on a few feet up ahead. Edward was still standing a few feet away from me, he knew I was there, I could see his body leaning towards me ever so slightly. He was more anxious as he stood there, I could see his eyes looking for me every few seconds, but he wasn't what I was looking at. I was looking past him, to what he was standing offensively against. I only saw Artemis, standing above another vampire, her foot pressed against his neck, though he didn't need air, it was probably very uncomfortable if not painful.

"Where are Felix and Demetri?" Artemis' voice was so beautiful and so violent. It was almost like a blade cutting through the air. The vampire at her feet tried to lift his arm and grab Artemis' leg, but before he could, there was a horrible tearing noise mixed with screams and a crunching noise.

"I don't think so." Aphrodite stood besides Artemis, with the grounded vampire's arm in her hands. My jaw fell and I suddenly felt faint. I had just watched a 90 pound woman just rip of the arm of a man five times her size, and she simply smiled. "Ares taught me that." She knelt down next to the vampire, who snarled at her as best he could with his neck being crushed under Artemis' black timberland boots.

"That's not all he taught her…" Artemis' smirked darkly and looked to Aphrodite who nodded, placed the severed arm back on the vampires body, walked around and ripped off the other. After the screams died down, Aphrodite took her vile and rubbed it gently.

"It's more painful to rip off the other while the first one heals, isn't that right, my baby?" I couldn't take my eyes off of the scene in front of me, even though it was making me feel slightly nauseous. Artemis looked up to see her sister talking to the vile around her neck, and a crazed looked took over her face.

"In case you're wondering, we've learned many torture techniques over the years…" Artemis pushed harder on the man's neck as Aphrodite put his arm back onto his body. The other arm was starting to heal, very slowly, it was attached to the skin, but there was no way the bone had mended yet, so Aphrodite made her way back to the first arm, but Poseidon interrupted.

"Aphrodite, stop. This is not who you are, and you know it." Poseidon was standing on the far side of there Artemis and Aphrodite tortured the unnamed vampire. Artemis rolled her eyes as he spoke to her sister, not bothering to redirect her sister's attention. "I know how much you're hurting, I feel it as though it were my pain." Poseidon looked to Artemis, who ignored his glance by reaching down and punching the vampire in the face, causing a loud clap like thunder. Aphrodite didn't even flinch, though she was the second closest to the noise, instead she just looked into Poseidon's eyes.

"Ares deserves revenge…." Aphrodite lifted her chin, she was trying to be strong, but the tears in the corners of her eyes would not be held back any longer. Her tears began to fall freely, but she didn't sob. The beautiful features of her face remained nonchalant, but the tears rolled from her eyes, down her cheeks and landed on her full, pouty lips. It was like seeing the most beautiful of statues with water gracefully falling down its features. Artemis didn't look up to her sister, I could only hear her cursing the vampire under her, while Poseidon stepped toward her, only slightly. "I have to do this for him. Ares had a future! Why should those who killed me have a future?" The scene was all too much, Artemis, still in control of the unnamed vampire, looked up her sister, tears in her eyes while Poseidon tried to reach out to her again. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, the unnamed vampire spoke.

"Aro wanted one of the Theon dead!" The vampire's eyes bugged out of his head in shock, as if he were confused about his own confession. Artemis smirked evilly; such a dark smile. The exact kind of smile you would expect a vampire to have.

"Now we're getting somewhere." Artemis hunched over the vampire, her foot still tight on his neck, but with less effort so that he could speak comfortably. "Why did he want this?" Artemis asked, but she seemed to have something hidden in it as she looked into the red eyes of her victim. "Say it out loud… After all, you're lucky my sister has not taken your tongue yet." The way Artemis spoke, and the look in Aphrodite's eyes at the suggestion shot fear into my heart. By this time, Edward, Carlisle, Jasper, and Emmett relaxed, only slightly. They were still over aware.

"He… He" The vampire stuttered.

"Spit it out, vermin!" Aphrodite screamed, her words were blood curdling, so full of her obvious pain it cut a knife into my heart and I fell over. Instantly, Edward was beside me.

"Are you all right?" Edward was lifting me into his arms gently.

"I can feel her pain…" The breathe had been taken out of me; this pain was nothing I had ever experienced and I was sure it would kill me, until it subsided out of nowhere. I looked to Aphrodite and saw the pain I felt etched in her features.

"They wanted to test the Cullens… If the Cullens believed one of the Theon was killed by a werewolf, Aro hoped they would feel compelled to help because of Artemis and Edward's history together…. If the Cullens joined the Theon, it would be easier for the Volturi to convince Edward, Alice, and the vampire Bella to join them…" The vampire could not hold in his own words, he was fighting every bit of it, with little success. He was biting at his own lip to keep his secrets. I had figured Artemis was forcing him to answer he through a mental conversation, or torment, but when I saw her eyes turned to Aphrodite, who's eyes were locked onto the vampires, I knew Artemis had nothing to do with any of this.

"And who decided to kill Ares?" Artemis turned to the vampire for a moment, then turned back to Aphrodite. The look in both of their eyes was strange, they looked almost lost, but when they looked into one another's eyes, they seemed comforted. When they were forced to break eye contact, both Artemis and Aphrodite's eyes were wide, confused, and full of hate. I watched as they stared into one another's eyes for a longer period of time than they had since I arrived, but it was still short, for Aphrodite's eyes turned back to the vampire pinned to the ground my Artemis.

"We did not want to kill him. We… We were going to kill." The vampire's eyes turned from Aphrodite, to Artemis with a dark look in them. Aphrodite and Poseidon did not snarl, or growl. Neither word could describe the noise that ripped through their throats, there was only one word; they roared. "You seemed to make the most sense… you had more experience fighting than the rest… you would be more dangerous to us alive, but you're much faster than we anticipated… so when you and Ares split to keep a look out, we decided on him… He was the youngest of you, with more pride than any of you. We didn't anticipate that he'd manage to kill three of us! But Demetri and Felix managed to get the better of him…" That was all he was able to speak, before he could speak another word, Aphrodite had threw Artemis off of the vampire, crouching down upon him, and biting into his neck. The vampire screamed so loud, I instantly threw my hands over my ears and kept them there until the screams died. When I looked back over to the group, Aphrodite was standing over the vampire, whose veins began to bulge, causing his body to spasm until finally he stopped.

"What the hell?" Emmett was the one to break the silence. Every member of the Cullen family looked over to him with an annoyed look in their eyes, while the Theon looked at one another.

"Mis, Di, are you to all right?" Poseidon walked over to Aphrodite first, who just stood over the dead vampire body victoriously. It wasn't until Poseidon touched her delicate shoulder with his massive hand did she fall over into tears. Poseidon did not try to catch her, in some way he knew he shouldn't. He just left Aphrodite hit the ground, screaming, sobbing. This seemed to snap Artemis out of her thoughts, for she instantly came running to her sister and held her close, speaking to her in a foreign language.

"Η αδελφή μου, την αδελφή μου, δεν κραυγή, δεν αισθάνεται πόνο, μπορώ ευχαρίστως να λάβει όλα για εσάς. (My sister, my sister, do not cry, do not feel pain, I gladly take it all for you.)" Artemis held Aphrodite tightly, tears falling slightly down her cheek. Poseidon knelt down beside them and took them both in his giant arms.

"Η οικογένειά μου, την οικογένειά μου, μπορώ ευχαρίστως να λάβει όλα για εσάς. (My family, my family, I gladly take it all for you.)" Poseidon looked up to the Cullens and nodded his head sadly.

* * *

Several days had passed since the incident in the meadow, Artemis, Aphrodite and Poseidon had not yet left, they were not ready to say their good byes, so they had stayed until they were and today Alice had a vision that they would be leaving. Today would be the last time I would see the Theon and part of me was thankful for it, another part was not. I was sitting on the couch of the Cullens living room as Edward played a sad song on the piano, fitting for what had just happened, when there was a knock at the door. Esme was instantly at the door, opening it.

"Hello Poseidon, Aphrodite, and Artemis. Come in." Esme stepped aside to let them in, her eyes lingering on Aphrodite, who were a black halter dress that reached down to her knees, with a slit on the side almost all the way up to her hip with a black veil over her face. In fact, all three were dressed in black. Poseidon was wearing a black silk button up shirt with black pants, while Artemis wore a plain black dress, with a small black hat pinned to the corner of her head. They looked, as always, more beautiful than anything, but they also looked more lonely. There were only three, when there was meant to be four. Aphrodite still wore the vile around her neck, but now, there was writing on the top of the bottle, _μου την καρδιά, δική μου ψυχή, η ύπαρξη_ (My heart, my soul, my existence.) I wasn't sure what it meant, but I knew it was something more intense than I could handle.

"Good day… We've come to say good bye, but we would also like to apologize." Poseidon looked to Artemis and Aphrodite, who instantly looked down, almost in shame. He sighed. "We had no intention of any of what had happened to occur, so we are sorry for causing you fear, or pain." Artemis seemed to grind her teeth in annoyance and nudged Poseidon. "Um, before we go, we would like to know, if there is anything we could do to make it up to you." By this time, all of the Cullens were standing around the front door of their home, watching the three in front of them cautiously, all except Carlisle, who stepped forward.

"We do not blame you for what happened… If I lost a member of my family, I believe I would do the same." Artemis looked up into Carlisle's eyes, her blue eyes were wide with disbelief, so beautiful. "We do have some questions about things that are unclear to us… For example, why was it your venom was able to kill another vampire?" Of course this would be Carlisle's question, he was a doctor, and science was an interest to him. Poseidon looked to Aphrodite and Artemis.

"I don't give two shits what you tell them." Aphrodite's voice was empty, even though she made an attempt at being her old self, it was obvious she was not there in spirit. Her blue eyes turned to Artemis, who merely shrugged. Poseidon nodded.

"Well… our venom is poisonous to your kind." Artemis again nudged Poseidon, but harder this time. "What I mean to say is, we are not like the vampires you know today. When I was a young mortal in my village, a disease struck. Everyone died except for me and my two brothers. Instead, we became very ill and something changed inside of us. Our bodies died, but the disease kept us alive. It changed us… we evolved, in a way. Our skins became harder than stone, we were stronger, faster, had these new abilities. Adonis, my brother, could call on thunder and lightening, Leander, my other brother, could kill a man with one look… I, my name at the time being Zacchaeus then, had the power to control water…" Poseidon looked down at his hands then shook his head. "Those were the primary gifts we received, but we also noticed that, we had fangs like animals. At first, it was the three of us… as time passed, we learned to control the amount of venom in our mouths to turn others, but it took a great amount of control and it turns out we were only capable of turning one being to one of us. This is because, in our time, we did not crave the blood of humans. We simply fed on the flesh and blood of animals, we had no desire for humans.

"Our venom was meant to kill our enemies; moon worshippers and those with no true shape. It was not meant to paralyze our victims as yours is, it was simply meant to kill instantly. Your kind is a descendant of Discord, one of us who was weak in her human life in both body and mind. Discord was turned because Hygeia, one of the goddesses of health, felt sorry for her. When Discord was turned, she changed as many mortal men as possibly, giving them a less potent amount of our venom, they also craved blood because their creator was insane." Poseidon paused for affect, all three of the Theon smirked slightly. "That is why our kind is different." The Cullens all folded their arms, obviously insulted. "That is why not every vampire created now has a mental ability, let alone a secondary power."

"You all have a secondary power?" Edward raised an eyebrow at Artemis; obviously he did not know this, despite the fact they spent so much time together once.

"Yes. I can control water, as well as feel emotions and tamper with memories." Poseidon smiled proudly.

"I have the ability to read minds as well as move objects with my mind" Artemis spoke as nonchalantly.

"I can see the lives of anyone I meet as well as control their will…" Aphrodite paused, it was almost as if she were waiting for Ares to tell them his power. She breathed in sharply, I knew that breathe, it was the breathe I would take often when I thought I was going to rip in half. "Ares could predict the movements of his enemies as well as control their minds." Aphrodite turned and headed toward the door. "It was a pleasure to meet you all…. I am so sorry for what I did…"

"We are so sorry for your loss." Rosalie spoke this time, she looked out to Aphrodite, and instead of jealousy in her eyes; you could see the sympathy in them. Aphrodite didn't turn back, she just kept walking.

"We must be going." Artemis did not look up right away, her eyes lingered on the floor. "I do not apologize for what I had planned. He was my brother…" Artemis turned and left without a word from anyone, but at the door, she stopped herself as if she had something else to say, but after a short pause, she followed Aphrodite out the door. Poseidon took a deep breathe.

"It was a pleasure to meet you all… I apologize for everything…" Poseidon's eyes turned to Edward for a minute. He lifted his chin up slightly, his eyes never leaving Edward, though he was much taller than Edward. Poseidon nodded and left. "I hope all goes well in your futures." And with that, the Theon were gone.

* * *

"Are you all right, Bella?" Edward was laying next to me in my bed, I had not forgotten he was there, but I was shocked when he spoke and pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. I was physically all right, but my mind was racing a mile a minute. I tried to imagine what it would be like to be with Edward for centuries and then losing him in a moment. I imagined the pain Aphrodite felt, but also how Artemis must have felt. She must have felt so guilty, though she shouldn't have. I nodded.

"I think so." I put my arms around Edward's neck and pulled him close to me. As I buried my face into his chest, I thought of the life we'd have together if I were to be a vampire. We could be together for eternity, but then there was always the chance I would lose him, like Aphrodite lost Ares. I thought hard for a minute. If I knew I would lose Edward one day, a thousand years from now, would I still want to become a vampire to spend those thousand years with him? I felt Edward's hand brush hair from my neck as he kissed the top of my head, and a small smile crept into the corners of my mouth. "Yes." Yes, I would be all right to spend a thousand years with him, even if I were to lose him, because I'd rather have that time with him, than have it with anyone else in the entirety of the world.


	15. Chapter 14 Alternate Ending

Disclaimer - I don't own Twilight, only the Theon, blah blah, you know how it goes.

This is an alternate ending to my final chapter of CD because my friend, Heatmiser, begged me to do this. There will be a line for where it changes.

* * *

Chapter 14 Alternate Ending

Aphrodite's vision wasn't long, in fact, it was relatively quick. It must have been only about a second, but it was long enough for Aphrodite to look around nervously and begin to move quickly in response. I watched as she moved back in forth, pacing and speaking quickly. She was dressed simply, she probably saw that it would be an inconvenient for her to wear one of her dresses, so instead she wore a pair of jeans that fit well, but with a little breathing room and an almost skin tight gray t. I looked down with a stifled smirk; she still wore a pair of silver stilettos, still a touch of beauty to her already inconceivable beauty.

"You and Bella will have to come with me." I looked back up quickly to see her piercing blue eyes staring back into mine, with a slight look of annoyance. I instantly looked away, but could still see Alice step forward quickly from the corner of my eye.

"I don't think so. She's safer here." Alice was standing in front of Aphrodite, her arms crossed over her chest in defiance. I wanted to reach out and pull Alice away, I was afraid Aphrodite would hurt her, but Aphrodite merely mimicked her stance.

"Actually, she's not." Aphrodite raised a thin eyebrow and shook her head. "The power you're kind wields is so weak. The vision I just had, not a moment ago, was one of Bella… She was sitting in Edward's room when the lackeys of the Volturi came and tore her to shreds." Such a blunt way to tell me how I would die, Alice cringed. I could hear a growl in her throat. "That will happen, I assure you, unless you come with me… She will be safer with the rest of your family."

"Who is trying to stop your sister from killing the werewolves. How do I know you're telling the truth and not just trying to lure Bella somewhere to kill her?" Alice took a few steps back until she could wrap her arms around me in case of an emergency. Aphrodite seemed peeved at this.

"If I wanted to kill her, I'd do it right now." Alice growled loudly, she took a defensive stance in front of my, leaving Aphrodite laughing. "Alice, I have no desire to kill her. I just lost my mate, I could never do that to someone else." I saw Aphrodite's hand reach up and touch a small vile strung through a gold chain around her neck. Inside the vile was something gray, something painful to her. "If you want to wait and see them show up, that's fine, but I won't be here and you'll mostly be torn to pieces seconds after they do the same to Bella." I swallowed hard, I wasn't so worried about me, but I feared for Alice. Alice didn't react the way I thought she would, instead of being aggressive, she thought for a moment.

"Why would the Volturi want Bella and me dead?" Alice raised her eyebrow in disbelief. She knew that the Volturi were interested in Bella, especially the fact that their special powers didn't work on her. Also the Volturi were interested in Alice.

"These vampires are young and do not understand their powers yet. So, they may go a little overboard with Bella. But, since you are a vampire, when they tear you apart, it will be no problem. You'll be able to…" Aphrodite smirked evilly and patted the vile around her neck. "Pull yourself together." Alice groaned and grabbed her head with one hand. She sat there thinking, or trying to force a vision, I wasn't sure.

"All right." I was taken aback by Alice, her facial expression seemed like she didn't agree, but she did nonetheless. Aphrodite seemed pleased as she grasped her hand tightly over the vile around her neck. Alice turned to me and shrugged. "I don't see anything happening to you if we go find them. And it would be safer for you if we're with Edward and Carlisle." I watched as Alice's eyes glazed over slightly, then looked at me with concern.

"See, things are just easier if you listen to me…" Aphrodite smiled as she stepped around me toward the door, then she began to mutter. "I always told you I knew best, but you couldn't listen to me, you just had to do this to me…" I turned to see what she meant by this, but when I turned around, Aphrodite wasn't speaking to me or Alice, instead she had the vile in her hands and she was speaking to it. I watched as her blue eyes looked into the vile of ashes pleadingly, hoping for some kind of response and when it didn't come, I saw the crushing blow kill her a little more. When she realized I was looking at her, I could hear a low growl as she clutched the vile protectively. All the sudden I felt an urge I couldn't resist to look away and feel unbelievably ashamed. Alice pulled me away when she heard the growling.

"Where are they?" Alice had her arms around me, protectively. I watched as Aphrodite tucked a stray strand of her beautiful dark red hair behind her ear. Her hair was in a ponytail, but it was in no way ordinary on her it was painfully exquisite. She cleared her throat, her hands never moving from the vile.

"A clearing… not far from the meadow… we made it ourselves." She seemed pleased with herself, but it didn't last long. She looked into Alice's eyes and then quickly turned on her silver stilettos and exited the house. "Follow." With that one word, she was out of site and Alice had scooped me up to follow.

When Alice finally stopped running, I could see Edward. He was in an offensive stance beside Carlisle, Emmet, and Jasper. I wondered to myself where Rosalie and Esme were, until they appeared beside us.

"What are you doing here?" Rosalie's voice was filled with annoyance. She wasn't fond of me, of this I was sure, but there was something in her expression I was unsure of… concern? Alice shrugged with a heavy sigh.

"Aphrodite said it was dangerous if we stayed at the house." Alice said it as if she still didn't believe what she was told. Esme and Rosalie looked at her, then at each other. Alice raised an eyebrow to them.

"Edward said that the Volturi were going to the house… " Esme put her hand in mind and squeeze gently, then she let go and stood in front of me as did Rosalie. I looked to Alice, but she didn't seem shocked as I thought she would. I knew she didn't believe Aphrodite, so I was confused. I thought for a second on why Alice would do something Aphrodite asked without any proof. I hadn't thought long on this, because I was distracted by what was going on a few feet up ahead. Edward was still standing a few feet away from me, he knew I was there, I could see his body leaning towards me ever so slightly. He was more anxious as he stood there, I could see his eyes looking for me every few seconds, but he wasn't what I was looking at. I was looking past him, to what he was standing offensively against. I only saw Artemis, standing above another vampire, her foot pressed against his neck, though he didn't need air, it was probably very uncomfortable if not painful.

"Where are Felix and Demetri?" Artemis' voice was so beautiful and so violent. It was almost like a blade cutting through the air. The vampire at her feet tried to lift his arm and grab Artemis' leg, but before he could, there was a horrible tearing noise mixed with screams and a crunching noise.

"I don't think so." Aphrodite stood besides Artemis, with the grounded vampire's arm in her hands. My jaw fell and I suddenly felt faint. I had just watched a 90 pound woman just rip of the arm of a man five times her size, and she simply smiled. "Ares taught me that." She knelt down next to the vampire, who snarled at her as best he could with his neck being crushed under Artemis' black timberland boots.

"That's not all he taught her…" Artemis' smirked darkly and looked to Aphrodite who nodded, placed the severed arm back on the vampires body, walked around and ripped off the other. After the screams died down, Aphrodite took her vile and rubbed it gently.

"It's more painful to rip off the other while the first one heals, isn't that right, my baby?" I couldn't take my eyes off of the scene in front of me, even though it was making me feel slightly nauseous. Artemis looked up to see her sister talking to the vile around her neck, and a crazed looked took over her face.

"In case you're wondering, we've learned many torture techniques over the years…" Artemis pushed harder on the man's neck as Aphrodite put his arm back onto his body. The other arm was starting to heal, very slowly, it was attached to the skin, but there was no way the bone had mended yet, so Aphrodite made her way back to the first arm, but Poseidon interrupted.

"Aphrodite, stop. This is not who you are, and you know it." Poseidon was standing on the far side of there Artemis and Aphrodite tortured the unnamed vampire. Artemis rolled her eyes as he spoke to her sister, not bothering to redirect her sister's attention. "I know how much you're hurting, I feel it as though it were my pain." Poseidon looked to Artemis, who ignored his glance by reaching down and punching the vampire in the face, causing a loud clap like thunder. Aphrodite didn't even flinch, though she was the second closest to the noise, instead she just looked into Poseidon's eyes.

"Ares deserves revenge…." Aphrodite lifted her chin, she was trying to be strong, but the tears in the corners of her eyes would not be held back any longer. Her tears began to fall freely, but she didn't sob. The beautiful features of her face remained nonchalant, but the tears rolled from her eyes, down her cheeks and landed on her full, pouty lips. It was like seeing the most beautiful of statues with water gracefully falling down its features. Artemis didn't look up to her sister, I could only hear her cursing the vampire under her, while Poseidon stepped toward her, only slightly. "I have to do this for him. Ares had a future! Why should those who killed me have a future?" The scene was all too much, Artemis, still in control of the unnamed vampire, looked up her sister, tears in her eyes while Poseidon tried to reach out to her again. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, the unnamed vampire spoke.

"Aro wanted one of the Theon dead!" The vampire's eyes bugged out of his head in shock, as if he were confused about his own confession. Artemis smirked evilly; such a dark smile. The exact kind of smile you would expect a vampire to have.

"Now we're getting somewhere." Artemis hunched over the vampire, her foot still tight on his neck, but with less effort so that he could speak comfortably. "Why did he want this?" Artemis asked, but she seemed to have something hidden in it as she looked into the red eyes of her victim. "Say it out loud… After all, you're lucky my sister has not taken your tongue yet." The way Artemis spoke, and the look in Aphrodite's eyes at the suggestion shot fear into my heart. By this time, Edward, Carlisle, Jasper, and Emmett relaxed, only slightly. They were still over aware.

"He… He" The vampire stuttered.

"Spit it out, vermin!" Aphrodite screamed, her words were blood curdling, so full of her obvious pain it cut a knife into my heart and I fell over. Instantly, Edward was beside me.

"Are you all right?" Edward was lifting me into his arms gently.

"I can feel her pain…" The breathe had been taken out of me; this pain was nothing I had ever experienced and I was sure it would kill me, until it subsided out of nowhere. I looked to Aphrodite and saw the pain I felt etched in her features.

"They wanted to test the Cullens… If the Cullens believed one of the Theon was killed by a werewolf, Aro hoped they would feel compelled to help because of Artemis and Edward's history together…. If the Cullens joined the Theon, it would be easier for the Volturi to convince Edward, Alice, and the vampire Bella to join them…" The vampire could not hold in his own words, he was fighting every bit of it, with little success. He was biting at his own lip to keep his secrets. I had figured Artemis was forcing him to answer he through a mental conversation, or torment, but when I saw her eyes turned to Aphrodite, who's eyes were locked onto the vampires, I knew Artemis had nothing to do with any of this.

"And who decided to kill Ares?" Artemis turned to the vampire for a moment, then turned back to Aphrodite. The look in both of their eyes was strange, they looked almost lost, but when they looked into one another's eyes, they seemed comforted. When they were forced to break eye contact, both Artemis and Aphrodite's eyes were wide, confused, and full of hate. I watched as they stared into one another's eyes for a longer period of time than they had since I arrived, but it was still short, for Aphrodite's eyes turned back to the vampire pinned to the ground my Artemis.

"We did not want to kill him. We… We were going to kill." The vampire's eyes turned from Aphrodite, to Artemis with a dark look in them. Aphrodite and Poseidon did not snarl, or growl. Neither word could describe the noise that ripped through their throats, there was only one word; they roared. "You seemed to make the most sense… you had more experience fighting than the rest… you would be more dangerous to us alive, but you're much faster than we anticipated… so when you and Ares split to keep a look out, we decided on him… He was the youngest of you, with more pride than any of you. We didn't anticipate that he'd manage to kill three of us! But Demetri and Felix managed to get the better of him…" That was all he was able to speak, before he could speak another word, Aphrodite had threw Artemis off of the vampire, crouching down upon him, and biting into his neck. The vampire screamed so loud, I instantly threw my hands over my ears and kept them there until the screams died. When I looked back over to the group, Aphrodite was standing over the vampire, whose veins began to bulge, causing his body to spasm until finally he stopped.

* * *

Aphrodite stood up, looked down at the body with a crazed smile. She was no longer who she was when I had first met her; it was obvious from looking in her eyes. There was no playful glint in them, as seen when she spoke with her family and she no longer had a sweet smile on her face. Instead, as she wiped her lips off on her arm, she bore her fangs with a low growl behind a malicious smile. Everyone was taken aback, even Artemis for a moment. I looked to Edward, who had moved close to me during this time, his arms blocking me from everyone. I looked over Edward's shoulder, with much difficulty to see what was happening. Artemis had picked herself up off the ground and made her way carefully to Aphrodite. They looked at one another carefully, their blue eyes staring straight into one another, their bodies completely still. Poseidon stood up and looked to them, Artemis smiled before she saw him, and when she did her smile fell.

"One down…" Artemis placed her hands on her hips and smirked to Poseidon.

"Volturi muscle to go." Aphrodite finished Artemis' sentence with a laugh. Poseidon looked down at both of them, his eyes narrowed in confusion. Edward stepped forward, only by have an inch and then he stepped back to block where I stood. He was so close, when I took a breath in I took in his scent and almost fell back. Even in the most inappropriate moments, Edward had the power to make me dizzy. I took in a sharp breath to ground myself.

"Is this… over?" Edward raised his eyebrow as he looked to Aphrodite, then to Poseidon. His eyes landed on Artemis and stayed there. I assumed he was trying to read her mind, because his eyes never left her face. She hadn't noticed right away, but after a moment, her head turned violently to Edward and her blue eyes glared back into his, causing Edward to jump slightly. Her blue eyes bored into Edward's beautiful topaz, but there was no friendship. She looked at him, very much like she had when she looked down at the vampire who Aphrodite had just killed. Edward didn't break his eye contact with Artemis, in fact, neither did. They were complete statues. It wasn't until Artemis smirked darkly and placed her arm around Aphrodite's tiny waist was there any movement.

"I don't think so, Edward." Artemis said this condescendingly, she had no intention of stopping here. She pointed down to the lifeless vampire body. "That was nothing. _That_ was merely a pawn. We are going for the rook, knight, bishop… pick your chess piece." Aphrodite giggled and placed her hand on the vile around her neck.

"I would say knight, but rook works also, since they move anywhere… and are the easier to remove from the board then the king or queen." Aphrodite's voice had a different kind of beauty to it now. It wasn't like the bell it once was, but now it sounded more dangerous; a siren at sea.

"Wait, what are you planning?" Edward's eyes were still locked onto Artemis' face. There was no way he was getting into her mind at this point, but he tried regardless. I watched as Poseidon looked back and forth between Artemis and Aphrodite. He knew what they were thinking, no doubt Artemis was letting him in on their plan, but it was obvious he was not happy about this. His eyes were wide, mortified, Poseidon's mouth opened to fight, though it was pointless, but instantly, his head hung and he nodded. Poseidon was in, even though he didn't want to be. Aphrodite sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes.

"Not very bright, is he?" Aphrodite wasn't speaking to anyone instead she had the vile in her hands and her eyes looking down to it, as if she were speaking to Ares. There was no answer from anything, but she smiled and nodded her head. "You said it, mis filei." Artemis looked out of the corner of her eye to Aphrodite and her lips turned down in sadness. Edward's eyes widened, then narrowed back at her.

"You can't be serious?" Artemis turned her head quickly to Edward, her eyes now wide in shock. She had not intentionally let Edward into her thoughts, she let her guard down for a mere second, but it was enough. I placed my hand on Edward's arm, as all of the Cullens moved closer to Edward. "She wants to destroy Demetri and Felix and then make her way through the Volturi." Every member of the Cullen family looked to Edward, their jaws dropped, as was mine. "You won't succeed." Artemis groaned and rolled her eyes. Poseidon just stood behind her, looking pleadingly at the back of her head.

"Correction, you could never succeed at this." Artemis sounded so sure of herself, which I was also. I had seen what the Volturi had, and I never wanted to see anything have to fight Jane again. "We, are not like your kind. We are pure, while you are the descendants of a crazed member of our family." Poseidon sighed heavily, causing Artemis and Aphrodite to throw back annoyed glances at him. "We will start small… work our way up." Artemis smiled proudly, but subtly. "After all, I am a huntress… what I want dead… dies."

"Ashes to ashes" Aphrodite sadly smiled, she then groaned as rain clouds began to roll in and turned to Poseidon. "Stop that. I am hurt by your lack of respect for my pain." Aphrodite stuck out her full, pouty lower lip at Poseidon, but it wasn't playful. It seemed almost genuine. Rain fell slightly as Poseidon spoke in a whisper to his sister.

"I'm not disrespectful, my dear. I've killed enough in my lifetime to-" Artemis turned harshly to Poseidon with a growl, whispering harshly to her mate.

"No one is making you follow us, Poseidon…" There was no affection in her voice, there was nothing but anger and I wondered why she was not the goddess of love, because she lost her brother and the love she felt for him compelled her to seek revenge even if it meant leaving her mate. Poseidon looked at Artemis, speechless as the rain stopped.

"I cannot live without you." The rain clouds disappeared as Poseidon realized he had to be with Artemis, he had no choice. Artemis then turned to Edward and began to walk towards him.

"You'll be killed if you try to destroy them." Edward took a few steps into the space that was between The Cullens and the Theon so that he was only a few feet from Artemis. "Don't do it." Artemis growled.

"You act as if you would not do this for someone you love." Aphrodite looked at Edward, her head tilted in confusion. Edward's eyes moved from Artemis for a moment, then to Aphrodite. "But you would... You'll risk everything for someone you love…"

"Get out of our way, Edward." Artemis was standing face to face with Edward, neither moving nor giving any space for the other. I watched to run out to Edward and pull him away, I was afraid of what could happen to him, but I was stunned by what Aphrodite had just said. Was Edward going to risk everything for me? Part of me hoped, but the other part of me begged that it was not so. Carlisle was the one to step forward.

"Edward, you can't stop them from doing that they wish to do." Carlisle stepped forward and placed a hand on Edward's shoulder. Edward's body instantly relaxed from its tense position and he took a step back. Carlisle looked to Artemis and began to spoke, but was instantly cut off.

"You can't father us or give us a sympathetic lecture that will convince us to stop… it's a cute idea, but we're going." Carlisle didn't let this comment touch him, he only nodded and hand still on Edward's shoulder, turned to his family and nodded again. Edward's jaw dropped, but Carlisle shook his head. When I looked around, the rest of the Cullen family had disappeared, alone with the Theon. So, it was over in Forks, but not for the Volturi.

* * *

"We heard some interesting news today." Edward was lying across my bed, watching me as I did my homework, half paying attention. I couldn't concentrate, instead, I was completely absorbed in the fact that Edward was watching me as I lay in my ratty sweatpants and shirt but still looking at me as if I were something special. I rolled onto my side to look face to face with Edward, and I lost my focus for a minute. I could feel a stupid smile on my face, as I watched the beautiful, intoxicating crooked smile of his spread across his face. "Tanya's family heard from interesting news… They ran into a nomad they knew once." Edward smiled playfully as his eyes looked up to the ceiling. "He recently heard from another acquaintance of his who makes residency in the Mediterrenean areas." I sat up, curious. Six months ago this wouldn't strike me as anything of interest, but now it sent a strange pang of guilt, sympathy and worry. The smile fell off of Edward's face. "The Volturi had a visit from the Theon about a month ago, and were told they'd be losing a lot of muscle, after Aphrodite broke Demetri's arm, of course." I smiled sadly, putting on a farce. The idea of Aphrodite breaking another arm made me feel slightly nauseous, especially after witnessing her torment another vampire. I shook off the empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. "And since then, several of the Volturi's muscle and some of the providers…" Providers, what a term to use for the vampires that brought the Volturi their food. Edward smiled weakly. "I guess that's what they meant by starting out small." I shrugged my shoulders and moved in close to Edward.

"Maybe they'll give up after Aphrodite feels like she's had her revenge." I hoped this was true, because the thought that Theon were going to fight the Volturi made me nervous, after all, the Volturi had so many vampires with so many special powers. At the same time, I figured it wouldn't happen. Aphrodite had said Edward would do it too, and Edward was stubborn, just as I believed Artemis was. So, I figured it wouldn't stop until Aphrodite killed Demetri and Felix. Edward shrugged, he must have known that there was no chance of that happening.

"We'll have to wait and see. Without the Volturi, there will be chaos." Edward placed his arms around me gently and kissed the top of my head. I closed my eyes and let myself relax into his arms. I could understand that there would be chaos without the Volturi, even though they aren't technically the good guys. I imagined what it would be like if the Theon took over, but I couldn't imagine that either. They looked out for one another only, which was fine in their world, but the Volturi had managed to create rules for vampires all over the world. I couldn't imagine the Theon doing this. We would just have to wait and find out what the Theon were going to do to the Volturi. I wasn't too worried, the more they were distracted, the more time I had to figure out if I wanted to wait for Edward to change me, or have Carlisle...


End file.
